The misadventures your boss can put you through
by LittleRuky
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi is dead. The Vongola famiglia struggles with an unpredictable but foreseen enemy. And in the midst of all this the guardians are left trying to gather the clues like professional anks God for right hand men with the stubborn intention on not repeating past and future mistakes."The number of time-space travels is escalating too quickly,goddammit!"
1. Target 1

Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, he knew that one way or another it would end up this way. It didn't help that his intuition was going haywire. And he did not even know what to save himself from. All he knew, before the man in front of him- a respected, loyal subordinate, that has served the famiglia for almost four decades (one under him) pointed his gun in his direction ,his face displaying nothing but indifference at seeing his boss die, was that his family was in danger.

* * *

The formal clad man standing at the street corner scowled, his keen emerald eyes surveying the throngs of people, most tourists, going in and out of the Piazza del Duomo.

It was a wonderful, sunny day of mid-spring, the warm weather alleviating the cold breeze that blew at times, reminding everyone that summer was not there yet. People of all ages and nationalities were stopping to admire the wonderful architecture and sheer size of the monstrous dome looming in front of them. While an architectural legend, the dome was not the only attraction populating the large piazza. Rather, the centers of attention were many. In front of the Cathedral, the Baptistry of San Giovanni delighted tourists with its form and sculpted doors. The scowling man stood in the shadow of yet another well known attraction- Giotto's bell tower. Which, ironically, shared the same name with the first boss of the Vongola famiglia that he was a part of. Though the man was not sure whether his boss's ancestor did actually build it, he doubted it very much. His chest swelled with pride at the thought, having had the honor of meeting the man in person- more like his ghost- and he figured they could not be the same people. The man remembered fleetingly his meeting with the first Storm guardian as well, and all the shit he had to go through to convince the bastard he was a very good choice for a right hand man.

Granted, G had good arguments, that some became true somewhere down the line, he had been adamant in not making the same mistakes his future self had made and become the perfect right hand man.

Gokudera exhaled in irritation, glancing around the busy piazza again. He had been waiting for the Tenth for a while now ,and while not necessarily unpunctual, Tsuna was always busy and his mind sometimes could not keep up with the speed things were going around him. Though in the last years he had gotten used to that, and could mostly manage on his own. But, throughout his ten year career as a mafia boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi has _never_ been this late.

His right hand man had been waiting for almost an hour and he had not spotted a chocolate brown head anywhere in the crowd. It did not help that the number of tourists was growing with the minute, but Gokudera supposed that was obviously not the problem. Even without his suit jacket, his blood red shirt was unmistakable, so his boss should not have any problems with finding him. They had agreed to meet here, Tsuna arguing that it was ok for him to meet Maurizio alone ,and that the man could be trusted. Usually, Gokudera would never even think of letting his boss go alone anywhere, but the man could sometimes be even more stubborn than him.

Which is why now, the silver haired bomber was standing in the shadow of the great tower of Giotto, scanning the crowd minutely, his search becoming more and more desperate with each passing second.

When the clock stroke 3 o'clock in the afternoon, marking that his boss was now an exact hour late to the meeting point, Gokudera took out his phone from the pocket of his pants, speed dialing his most important contact number. He had kept himself from calling up until now, reasoning that maybe they took longer to talk, or Maurizio had invited Tsuna to coffee, or maybe Tsuna himself wandered off in a Cafe. He could not imagine the man had got lost, since he knew Florence like the palm of his hand.

Urging the person on the other end to pick up, he silently cursed the tower behind him for its continuous bell ringing that made it harder for him to hear.

Deciding to move away to escape the sound, he made to step onto the rock paved street, only to freeze as he felt a presence materialize behind him. Sliding his phone away from his ear, catching only the busy message tone on the device, he slowly turned to face the darker shadows behind him.

What he saw made his blood turn cold. Two Vindice guards stood unmoved, their chains and tattered clothes floating in the cold breeze. Their dead eyes were fixated on him, and he fixed them right back, with a cold stare of his own.

He was not afraid of them. Probably long ago, but nowadays they became somewhere between allies and irritating guys that arrested criminals before the Vongola had a chance to interrogate them. And even more absurd was that they offered no visits or interrogation hours, making Gokudera's job one thousand times harder.

But in this moment, the bomber realized he was scared. If they were here, then something must have happened. He only prayed that it was nothing about his boss and that they only wanted help for catching a bad criminal. The chances were almost close to zero, and the man's mind was already on overload, going through all the bad possibilities and swiftly cataloging them.

The people in the piazza did not seem to realize the monstrosities were there, and Gokudera concluded that they probably used a Mist based illusion.

One of the zombies moved, prompting the Storm guardian to tense, his guard up and ready for any attack. But the Vindice was not there to fight, rather- as all harbinger of bad news- Zombie number one lifted a hand, its claws and decomposed fingers clasping what could only be a piece of paper. And it was offered to him.

The bomber gulped, before extending a steady hand to catch the other end of the paper, immediately bringing it to his side but not making any move to read it.

 **"This was the only thing we have found."** The deep, frigid voice said without an ounce of emotion. Before Gokudera could demand an explanation, Zombie number two approached, producing a photograph from beneath his bandages.

 **"Do you know the man in the photo?"**

Emerald eyes widened as he found Maurizio lying on the floor in a pool of blood. A black revolver was near his head, and a couple of meters from him, another pool of blood could be spotted. Without thinking much, Gokudera nodded observing their reactions. Or lack thereof.

Zombie number two looked like he wanted to sigh, but one could never be sure.

 **"That man is the killer."** He pointed at Maurizio, shocking the mafioso. **"We have the body. It contains secrets."**

Before Gokudera could ask what the hell had happened, and what they were talking about, black smoke rose from their feet, enveloping the two Vindice. As they disappeared, Zombie number one said.

 **"Remeber:** _ **cerca trova.**_ **Bring them down."**

And with that, the smoke cleared, leaving a confused Storm guardian to gaze at the architecture of Giotto's tower bell.

* * *

With unsteady feet, Gokudera had managed to return to the hotel he and his boss had checked in that morning. His shaking limbs were very hard to control at this point, and it only got worse. Absentmindedly, the man realized he may be having a panic attack, but he could care less at the moment.

With the slip of paper still clutched in his right hand, he unlocked the apartment door after a couple of tries and entered the luxurious living room. Without as much as a glance around him, he threw himself on the couch, gazing at the ceiling and trying to calm down. Somehow, he knew what was written in there, and he was afraid to open it. If he read it, then the crushing reality will hit him full force and everything that he had worked so hard for up until now would crumble to pieces and disappear. Along with everyone important to him, it seems.

But he had to read it. No matter what happened, he was the right hand man. He had to have his head on his shoulders and deal with the situation, feelings aside. This was his responsibility and he was damned if he was not going to keep it.

The dirty piece of paper in his hand looked like it had been written for a while and stored in a pocket most probably. The way it was folded suggested that Maurizio, if he had been the one to write it, had either kept it with him for a very long period or just wrote the message in a hurry on a random paper he had found.

Opening it, his keen eyes scanned the contents and the longer he gazed at it, Gokudera felt the earth snatched from right under his feet. He hesitated to know whether his earlier assumptions about the writing have been right. Both possibilities were too horrifying to think about. In front of him, the message was written in dark red marker, in a calligraphy that was not familiar to the man.

 **VONGOLA DECIMO IS DEAD**

 **AND SO WILL THE VONGOLA FALL**

* * *

Yamamoto Takeshi whistled as he walked down the paved street. Behind him, the monumental form of the Colosseum loomed above the crowds of tourists and local citizens, the sun illuminating its eroded stone structure.

Ahead of him, the Trajan Column appeared to his right, while Altare della Patria stood ahead proudly overlooking the busy streets.

The man was in a good mood. Today had been a good day, as far as the swordsman was concerned. He had completed his mission perfectly once again, and now had time to kick back and relax, stroll through the streets of Italy's capital city, Rome.

Enjoying the warm sun rays, his mind wandered towards his boss. He and Gokudera were in Florence dealing with the cargo thingy and that Maurizio guy. Their associate was not someone really special, but he had been serving the Vongola famiglia for many years, so he supposed he was loyal, at least. He hoped they would not stay long there. His boss tended to forget things, but surely Gokudera did remember that they had a conference in Milano to attend to.

The Rain guardian chuckled asking himself when things got so complicated. He felt it was just yesterday when he and his friends were in school and he thought they were playing a mafia game. But things escalated so quickly that the japanese man found himself drowned in them. Not that he minded. He would follow Tsuna through the pits of Hell if he needed to. He owed everything to the man who had saved his life. Not only that, but after seeing the real Tsuna, both boys had forged through the years a strong bond of friendship and camaraderie. Nay, they were more like brothers. All of them. And no matter what happened Yamamoto would never abandon them. He knew, neither would Tsuna.

The sun rays were cut off suddenly, and the black haired man looked up in surprise. Instead of the yellow ball of fire, he saw the massive statues of the Altare staring back at him. The large, numerous stairs were full of people that climbed up and down, photographing their surroundings and themselves.

A sudden chill ran down his spine and sharp hazel eyes snapped alert from left to right, searching for the cause. What he found made his eyes widen, partly in disbelief, partly in alarm.

In front of him, standing in front of the numerous stairs that lead to the entrance of the building, stood two Vindice people. Both were as disheveled as ever, their faces bandaged and hair tangled, shielding most of their faces along with their hats.

The Rain guardian looked around, hoping they would not produce a mass scare, but started when he saw that no one was even looking in their direction.

A Mist based illusion, huh.

One of them took a step forward, his empty eyes never leaving his form. Yamamoto squared his shoulders and returned his gaze, a questioning look in his warm hazel eyes.

The Vindice raised one of his bandaged hands, the chains attached to his wrist clanking loudly in the man's ears. He was so tense, every noise but the one that was produced by the guards in front of him was drowned out, reduced to a simple, far away murmur.

The Rain guardian blinked as he saw that the guard wanted to hand him a piece of old paper. Raising one eyebrow, he silently took the paper and put it in his pants' pocket. He would have time to read it later. Now he had to deal with those two.

Surprisingly, the zombies did not look like they had any other business with him. As black smoke covered their forms, the swordsman heard their hard, hollow voices leaving an echo of words in his head.

 **"Bring them down."**

Yamamoto blinked, even more confused. Ok, he guessed things could not become more strange. The Vindice sure liked to play around, and they had the time too. The black haired man thought it was pretty awesome.

His thoughts turned back to the slip of paper and a tremor run through him. His instincts were telling him that something was not right. And they seemed to be never wrong.

His intuition and instincts were top notch in the mafia world, only falling behind to Tsuna's Hyper Intuition and Reborn's own intuition and skills. Even so, he always tried to surpass the hitman. And he promised he will someday.

Deciding to not risk reading it in the middle of the street in fear of what could be written in there, the man returned with a hurried pace towards his parked black Porsche near the Colosseum and drove off, unconsciously accelerating through the streets. He'll deal with the authorities later.

As the neon sign of the hotel came into view, the man relaxed slightly, his shoulders slumping in obvious relief. The more time that passed, the more the feeling that something was not right was growing. Stepping into the lobby, he bolted right for the elevator, pressing the 11 button with a little too much force than necessary. The ascent felt like forever, Yamamoto touching his pocket every other minute. He felt like the paper was burning a hole through his pants and skin down to his very bones.

Finally stepping into the small, but luxurious hotel room, the Rain guardian locked the door, making sure to double check before checking the windows. He knew it could be stupid or that it was a little far-fetched, _especially_ if the Vindice gave the paper to him like that in the middle of the street. Still, it did not hurt to be cautious. Years of being in the mafia and an assassin have taught Yamamoto to keep an eye open for everyone around you, and prepare for anything that might happen.

Satisfied with his surveillance, he sat on the dark blue plush couch and took the slip out of his pocket. Gazing at the old paper, it looked to him like a pretty unimportant message, considering the choice of material. Though if it was an emergency, he supposed anything could work.

Flipping it on the other side he saw nothing new. With another breath, his fingers unfolded the paper to find a blood red message gazing up at him. Hazel eyes widened, and he froze staring at the writing in disbelief. Because that was the only thing he could feel now. Disbelief, and a hurricane of other emotions that were controlled by fear and loss.

 **VONGOLA DECIMO IS DEAD**

 **AND SO WILL THE VONGOLA FALL**

His right fist clenched, crumpling the paper with it. Empty light brown eyes gazed at the piece of trash before darting to the clock on the wall above the door. Yamamoto supposed he would see Hell sooner than expected. Of course, he would bring some friends with him as well.

* * *

Mukuro walked down the street, quietly enjoying the sun and the smell of sea salt. Venice, he supposed, was not that bad at all. He relished in the calm side streets, free from nosy tourists and motor boats. The small houses and piazzas that awaited them behind the large canals and circulated routes that composed the lagoon, welcomed him with open arms. Mismatched eyes glanced behind him, watching his Chrome look around her curiously, amazement glinting in her eye as she took in her surroundings with the eagerness of a child. Mukuro chuckled. He was glad the girl was enjoying their quiet afternoon.

After the irritating mission of dealing with the cargo and the people that were _supposed_ to be taking care of it, was enough to destroy his mood. He silently cursed the disciplinarian bastard. He came one day before the mission, telling that gullible Tsunayoshi that he had business in Namimori that required his immediate attention, and that he would be departing that same day. Obviously, the damned mission had fallen onto his shoulders and he had to bear the weight.

Thankfully, the idiots that he had dealt with had, at least, a fragment of a brain. It was also fun playing with the new squad sent by the authorities. Those poor idiots did not know what hit them. And they deserved every piece.

Flipping black strands over his shoulder, he glanced up at the cloudless sky and smirked. His day was always better without _clouds_.

All of a sudden, a large piazza opened in front of him and the Mist guardian realized that he was gazing at Piazza St. Mark. Its enormous size had always impressed the man. At their left, the Doge's Palace and Basilica rose proudly, while the waves of the sea created a melancholic melody. Laughter and joy was everywhere making the guardian scrunch his nose. That's why he preferred the back alleys.

Looking back at Chrome, he could see she was enjoying the sight, so he supposed they could stay a few minutes more.

Absently, his train of thoughts wandered towards one of his favorite shops in the city, and he decided to make a visit there after they left.

* * *

The shop was situated a long way from the bustle of Piazza St. Mark, almost in the heart of the city. While most people tended to stay near the grand canals and water, whether to see the Gondolas or visit the stores- that were arguably more in number in those touristic zones- his favorite shop's location was relatively far away from all the bustle. Which gave him a comforting calmness that did not exist there.

Rokudo Mukuro might like chaos, but he would gladly argue that he liked _ordered_ chaos. And he surely did not enjoy crowding or any other form of hoarding like animals, which he grimly agrees, was the only thing he will _ever_ share in common with the Cloud guardian. He enjoyed stillness and silence. And all the architecture around him, of course.

The man had always been an admirer of fine arts, though between being an evil mastermind and annoying Sawada Tsunayoshi, he never had much time to enjoy it as a hobby in the past. Nowadays, he usually stopped by places that housed famous pieces of art and study them for hours.

Tsunayoshi and the other idiots had found his hobby out when they had spent more than five hours searching for him all around Florence, only to find him at Galleria Uffizi. The brunette haired man had laughed, saying that it was a good hobby, and he was happy that Mukuro enjoyed other things besides illusionism- and killing people.

The small shop came into view just as they rounded the corner. It looked almost run-down from the outside, but that was not the case.

Pushing the glass door open, the mint scent of candles and paint greeted him. All around the shop, traditional Venetian masks and costumes, generally wore on parades and celebrations, were scattered. Some were in the fabrication process, while others were displayed on mannequins.

Unlike the other commercial shops around the lagoon, this shop was a truly tradition-keeper. Its owner was one of the most talented mask makers in all Italy, and Mukuro, one of his best clients.

The guardians along with their boss had discovered the Mist's affinity to wearing masks and costumes very ironic and most of all, foreseeable. The man in question had only raised an eyebrow back then and refrained from impaling them all with some well manufactured illusions. He did not care for such things as fate or affinity. He liked whatever he wanted and dressed however he wanted. He had enough money to do whatever he willed. Ok, his boss did. But the guardians were rewarded with serious cash for their missions, too.

" _Buongiorno._ Welcome. I see you have decided to move here, no?" A playful voice asked from the back of the shop.

Without hesitation, the Mist guardian made his way to the curtains that divided the shop in two, stepping around carefully, in case there was something important scattered there. The owner, while a truly amazing man, with a nice personality, did not take kindly to people who break his work. Parting the black curtain, Mukuro came face to face with an old friend and smirked.

"Yes, I would like that very much. But it would not matter anyway in my line of work."

The man laughed. "Unfortunately for you, it seems. How is little Chrome?"

The girl in question poked her head into the room at hearing her name spoken, and bowed quickly in greeting.

"Quite good as well." The owner chuckled, before his black gaze met Mukuro's mismatched one. "Are you here to steal another mask from me?"

His grin clearly indicated that he was joking.

Mukuro smiled ruefully. "Why, you hurt me. I always remember to pay the prices."

The double meaning was not lost on Chrome, but she decided to not comment on it. Her Mukuro- sama had become a very wonderful person thanks to Boss and the others. He truly had changed for the better. Many said that she has as well, but the girl doubted it very much. She was very shy around strangers and _still_ shy around her best friends. She had yet a long way to go.

The owner smiled and motioned for Mukuro to choose from the multitude of masks around the room. Mukuro- sama never missed an opportunity to enlarge his collection of Venetian masks. They were among his favorite, along with Victorian costumes. The man had long ago stopped wearing such things, but he still collected them. Which was nice, in Chrome's opinion. Everyone could use a hobby if it did not involve mutilating people to death.

The Mist's slender fingers grasped the edge of a plague mask. It had a long, beak nose, and it was all black with strips of dark red and white around the eyes. It was not an uncommon one in his collection, so Chrome wondered why he chose it in the first place.

"Oh, this is quite common, _Signor_ Mukuro." The owner stroke his beard, voicing the girl's exact thoughts.

Mukuro only smiled tightly and answered."I had this unsettling feeling since morning. I was thinking that this mask represents it very well."

Chrome could not help but be alarmed at his confession. The black plague mask did not represent anything nice, which was an understatement. The mask was used by doctors during the Black Death plague that assaulted Europe in the 14th century and it remained a grim symbol for many. In short, it represented the biggest fear of all mankind- _death_. And that honestly did not sit very well with the eye patched girl.

Before she could ask her mentor what he meant, the guardian had already paid for the object and said his goodbyes quickly, before leaving the shop.

Even more confused by his actions, Chrome could only follow after him in a hurry. The small alley was deserted when they exited the building.

Mukuro only managed to take a few steps forward before he froze, his trident immediately materializing in his right 's eye widened at the two familiar figures emerging from black smoke.

The Vindice guards stood motionless, staring at Mukuro and the man right back at them.

Panic fluttered in the girl's chest, but she squashed it quickly. They did not come here for Mukuro-sama. He had done nothing wrong, Chrome made sure of that.

Boss had asked her long ago to look after Mukuro and make sure he did not do anything dangerous or commit any crime. She had been handed this mission and she made sure nothing had happened. But then, _why_ were they here?

Before any of them could speak, one of the Vindice stepped forward, his long hand lifting in Mukuro's direction. Instead of the pointing finger the illusionist expected, he was greeted with a paper to the face- almost. He stepped back just as the guard came forward, successfully saving himself from an awkward situation. He stared at the paper for a few moments, before realizing it was meant for him. Hesitating to accept something from the people that put him in jail, he took it and took another step backwards. The zombie walked towards Chrome then, handing her the same paper, which she accepted gingerly.

Seeming finished with his job, the Vindice zombie teleported back next to his partner, and smoke started enveloping them both. Before they left, the second guard spoke, his raspy, hollow voice resonating through the alley.

 **"Bring them down."**

Both guardians blinked at the same time, watching the shadows disappear. After the smoke cleared, Mukuro turned around on his heels, marching back inside the shop without another word. Having no other choice, Chrome entered after him.

"We will use your room for a few moments, owner." The guardian informed in flawless Italian. The older man was confused but agreed wholeheartedly, motioning them inside.

The little room was no larger than her own bathroom back at the Vongola mansion, but it was so full, you barely had place to walk. Chrome sat on the only seat left on the brown, worn leather couch, while Mukuro sat in front of her in a rotating office chair. He took out his paper nonchalantly and began reading it.

Chrome would have done that herself, had she not been scared of what she'll find in there. It was her turn now to have a bad feeling about all this. Her eye widened when she saw the man in front of her freeze, his different eyes opening wide and his eyebrows shooting up in surprise, before his expression went grim, mouth pressed in a thin line.

Heart racing, Chrome unfolded her own paper staring at the blood red colored message in horror.

 **VONGOLA DECIMO IS DEAD**

 **AND SO WILL THE VONGOLA FALL**

Mismatched eyes stared at the beaked nose of the mask and their owner released a humorless laugh.

"I didn't know it could feel bad to be right."

* * *

Hibari Kyoya yawned, his steel grey eyes looking up at the sky absentmindedly. He was bored, for lack of a better word. He would give anything to have someone to bite to death right about now.

His mind wondered to the mission that he had missed out and growled. The stupid herbivore could not wait one more day for Hibari to return from Japan. He had to go and give it to the pineapple head herbivore. His growl transformed into a sneer and he made a mental note to bite both herbivores to death.

His eyes gazed at the bustling city of Namimori below. The shrine hill offered an amazing perspective. Once, Hibari thought that Namimori was a big city, even if some were bigger. As the keeper of discipline, he concluded it was big enough. Keeping in line so many herbivores at once was hard work, even in such small suburb. But then, the damned herbivore and his baby tutor- that admittedly both were pretty dangerous, and that was mostly the reason Hibari even gave them a second glance- had whisked him up along with his herd of herbivores in Italy. There, he had learned that the world could be so much bigger.

He had been obviously angered by the guts Sawada Tsunayoshi displayed when he thought that he could bring him to Italy along with them, but the baby argued that there were many opponents for him where they were going. And he was right. _Very._

The man smirked remembering his first few days in Italy. In short, it had been hectic. The herbivore had been horrified, especially at his- what he called- _reckless_ behavior, but he would never turn down a fight. And there had been plenty. He supposed the mafia was not so bad as he had thought. At least there were people who knew how to offer a good fight.

His gaze found Hibird flying in circles above him, its small, yellow body looking like a colored moving point on the blue sky.

"Hibari-san, the guys from Yuzuru Yakuza are here to discuss the terms of the proposal." A voice said from behind him.

The Cloud growled at his peace being destroyed once again. Since he spent a lot of time in Japan, Sawada Tsunayoshi had deemed it right to make him head of the Homebase in Namimori. Well, he was pretty much the only one always there.

Hibari had been tasked to deal with all the idiots around here now. He supposed this was the Decimo's way of getting revenge on someone. He would bite him to death next time.

Not nearly ready to leave his favorite spot behind, he motioned for Kusakabe to make the preparations and invite the idiots inside. He'll come at some point. The older man nodded and hurried off, disappearing into thin air when he reached the entrance of the Namimori shrine.

The new Vongola boss had been adamant they keep and build with the same blueprints the base from the future was built. He said that it was better that way, since everyone already knew their way around and so on. The others had no choice but to agree, so the base was exactly as the one from their ten-year-later adventure. Of course, he did not bother in changing the Foundation's base either.

The prefect let another couple of minutes pass before deciding the idiots had waited long enough. The black haired man lifted himself from the ground and dusted off his suit jacket before donning it on. Visual intimidation through clothing, Hibari had learned, was a true weapon in the Underworld.

Taking his time to climb up the stairs, his mind wandered to his morning meal, a quick flash of a broken tea cup assaulting his mind before disintegrating into nothingness. He had brushed it aside that it was nothing. And it was.

His foot lifted to make the step forward to enter the shrine, but froze mid air.

The Cloud guardian recoiled and got into a fighting position, his tonfas out and gleaming. In front of him, silent as the dead, stood two Vindice guards, their torn clothes fluttering in the wind. They did not make any move, simply staring at the man in front of them.

Sensing no ill intentions, Hibari let down his tonfas. But he was not a man of patience.

"What do you want?" He growled, throwing them a fierce glare.

The two did not move a muscle at the threatening attitude. One of them stepped forward, his long arm extending towards Hibari.

The tonfas were up once again, but nothing happened. The guardian blinked when he saw the guy was giving him a piece of paper.

"Herbivore, you better be joking..." The growl transformed once again in a sneer, threatening to explode. The zombie did not even blink and Hibari knew better than to make war with this organization.

He had made the mistake in the past, and he would not like to repeat it. Even if it was a good fight, the fact that he had his ass handed to him by his wimpy boss had opened his eyes to many things. One of them being that Tsunayoshi Sawada was no simple herbivore- he was an _omnivore_.

He snatched the piece of paper from the other's hand, his eyes never straying from their disheveled forms.

Black mist began to envelop the two. Before they disappeared, the second one spoke in a deep, throaty voice.

 **"Bring them down."**

And with that they were gone. Hibari blinked, quite confused. Those people handed him a stupid message and left just like that. Did the Vindice fall so low as to act as a post delivery service now. The fuck was with that paper anyway?

Hibari was never one to swear, but the dirty, crumpled paper in his hand looked like it went through the waste bin and back. This was poor service first of all. He would give them a piece of his mind next time.

A sudden thought struck him and he scowled. He really _hoped_ , for his boss's sake, that the brown haired man did not send him this message. Because he would kill this time, not bite.

He turned on his heels, disappearing from view, as he made his way towards his office. He had decided to read it later, after he dealt with the idiots on the other side of the Shōji doors, but curiosity overwhelmed him and he unfolded the paper. Dark red text faced him, and in that moment Hibari felt his blood go cold for the first time in his life.

 **VONGOLA DECIMO IS DEAD**

 **AND SO WILL THE VONGOLA FALL**

Resisting the impulse to shred the shitty paper, the man folded it, placing it back in his pocket. His face was a mask of indifference, as always, when he entered the room.

"Get out herbivores. I've got carnivores to hunt."

* * *

Lambo thought, not for the first time, that being a Vongola guardian- or being in general a part of the prestigious Vongola famiglia- was both a blessing and a curse.

The blessing part, even if he would not admit it out loud, was the loving and dysfunctional family he had acquired. Until the age of five, he had been all alone, but when he had arrived in Japan, he had met so many wonderful people that made Lambo think he was truly lucky.

Baka- Tsuna and the other guardians were now the center of his world and would remain so for a long time. Admittedly, he still had reservations for some of them- Hibari, because he had been bitten to death enough times. Mukuro, because he had been put under nasty illusions enough times. And Gokudera, because he had been scolded and forced to listen to hours of theoretical things he did not understand enough times.

But even so, all of them had saved Lambo, and had been there for him whenever he had needed someone, so the teen would never dare to complain.

Chrome, Kyoko and Haru were always there, too, when he needed someone more understanding. Even the ever serious Hana- who hated him when he had been a kid, though he learned that she hated all kids- was cooing over how handsome he had become. And whenever he was bored, I-Pin and Fuuta were his trusted company.

All in all, his family was his world even if sometimes there was too many violence and swear words going around the house.

The curse part was a delicate subject to go around on. Besides the many assassins, mafia wars and conflicts that were half happening on Vongola Mansion's grounds, the way he was treated in the outside world was affected as well. Needless to say, he did not care at all. He will always be proud to be a part of this family. But people at the Academy- where _Baka_ \- Tsuna had forced him to go- were certainly not so lenient on his situation. Despite the brunette's scowling face as he signed the paper for a _Mafia_ Academy, since Reborn argued that Lambo would not fit anywhere and their secret would be either way in danger- which the teen would like to argue that it was not. Tsuna wanted Lambo to enjoy a true school life. And ever since that faithful day 7 years ago, he had been forced to be the best at everything. His teachers obviously had high expectations from the boy, and his colleagues did not make it much better.

While most of the girls were a part of his fanclub, and some boys were good guys but pretty creepy, the rest of the so-called cool kids were either sneering at him or picking on him. They would not stoop so low as to bully him, like some less gifted others, because there was the danger of the Vongola leveling their houses overnight. Not that Lambo would ever tell any of his family. He needed to be able to deal with them. That's what he had promised Reborn and himself.

"Lambo!" A girl squealed and waved wildly in his direction. The teen smiled back and waved a little too enthusiastic to be real, but nonetheless, the girl looked happy as she skipped away to join her friends.

The teen sighed, whishing he could have an invisibility cape or something like that. He should ask Spanner later.

His feet guided him to a well known path down the streets of Sicily's biggest city, Palermo, the center of the Italian Mafia World. And home to Vongola Headquarters.

The Lightning guardian was asked by Ryohei to pick up a package from the Tomaso, since he was busy with some unexpected mission.

Fleetingly, he relieved his own mission with the older man the other day at Mafia Land. They've been tasked in monitoring the Settera famiglia in case those guys tried something, but nothing had seemed out of the ordinary back then. The only alarming point was the few moments in which Don Rittoro had met with some shady guy. He had had his face covered so they could not see who it was, but big brother Ryohei seemed to know something, since he made to leave immediately after witnessing that. And then they met young Vongola and the others. Good times.

Lambo turned the corner, officially entering on Tomaso territory. Surprisingly, this famiglia still survives, even with all the forces of the world against it. When their place in the Vongola Alliance was solidly established, Tomaso had been welcomed better by other allies and they managed to gain some influence.

Tsuna had the idea a few years ago and proposed it to Longchamp Naito. He explained that in exchange for spy services and information gathering, the Tomaso famiglia had Vongola's ultimate protection. They were required to not leave the shadows and appear to the outer world as a little famiglia that could not do anything, while on the inside they trained spies and agents. To ensure the success of the operation, he Guardians were tasked separately to train and participate in the forming of the organization. Even so, Lambo had not been there much. Thinking about it now, he did not have much to offer either, so he supposed it was only fair game.

A few guys with black fedoras, long black coats and black sunglasses- that looked pretty uncomfortable to be worn in the shadows they were stationed in- nodded in his direction. Lambo rolled his eyes but offered a nod back nonetheless. Those guys screamed mafia. He only hoped this was part of the fooling. The teen slouched, putting his hands in his pants' pockets and sighed. He was bored already.

Rounding yet another corner, he entered a shadowy alley that screamed mafia setting. Seriously now, he really hoped these guys were trying to fool enemy famiglias not Hollywood film makers.

A sudden shiver went down his spine and he stopped, foot lifted midair, large green eyes fixed on the two black forms before him- which Lambo concluded could not be the same mafia thugs from before.

He swallowed hard, trying to contain his tremors as one of the Vindice guards walked closer. The guardian swiftly recounted all his sins, but he came up blank on reasons why he should be arrested. If you did not count chewing gum robbery, then he was as clear as one who grew up in the mafia could be. Tsuna never encouraged stealing and so on, and was greatly aversed to anyone doing such thing. He argued that they were stealing enough money and things as it was, they did not need any more material robbery now. Not to mention that the Vongola famiglia had enough money to buy Lambo chewing gum for life if he so wanted. But the teen might have been dared or in a pinch, he will never tell.

Emerging back from his thoughts, his fear returned full force when he saw the zombie guy standing only a few meters away. From the close distance, Lambo felt the cold mist that could freeze one's very core, and shivered inadvertently.

The Vindice lifted his hand, handing him a piece of paper, which he accepted gracefully, before stepping away from him.

"Uh, t-thanks...?" He cringed at his stuttering, the sentence becoming a question in its finale.

The guard did not grace him with an answer, instead he teleported back next to his partner and the same black smoke enveloped them both. Before disappearing, the second zombie said in a scary, zombie voice.

 **"Bring them down."**

And with that, they were gone. The guardian blinked, very confused now. His eyes locked on the dirty paper. Looking once, up and down the road for good measure, he opened the note with trembling fingers. Dark blood text felt like it snarled evilly back at him.

 **VONGOLA DECIMO IS DEAD**

 **AND SO WILL THE VONGOLA FALL**

Lambo's knees buckled and he fell on the pavement numbly. His mouth felt open but he could not speak. His mind was overloaded, but he could not think of anything. And worst of all, his heart felt alive and beating, but in reality it was a cold, dead lump. And just like that, Lambo's world crashed down.

* * *

Sasagawa Ryohei swore quietly as he pulled out his keys for the black Audi parked outside the shopping mall. The sun of Palermo shined angrily overhead, making the heat almost unbearable. But Sasagawa Ryohei was a man of extremes and thus, would not be stopped by a measly heat.

No, what he was really concerned about at the moment was the increasing power and resources the Seven Alliance had acquired almost overnight. It was not impossible, but such development only meant trouble.

The Sun guardian had been tasked by his boss long ago to keep an eye on these guys and report everything he learned. He had concluded back then, that if Sawada was concerned enough to give the mission to a guardian, then it was serious after all.

And his boss's Hyper Intuition was not wrong. Rittoro and his band of thugs amassed a huge number of allies and disciples, and they were growing exponentially with each passing day. It looked like the don had appealed to the side of the Underworld that was not on such good terms with the Vongola. And unfortunately, those were many.

Even with all of Sawada's sweat and tears, he could not resolve in only a decade everything the Vongola had done in _generations._

But results were and so was hope. Even so, the number of people still out for Vongola blood was high and there were cases in which history- long hatred was concerned. But the guardians, along with their boss have dealt with them in the past. What changed now?

For once, the fact that a player like Don Rittoro entered the game meant more trouble than it was worth. That, combined with the ever growing troubles going on around this never sleeping world, were enough to distract their attention, even if just for a moment, from the man's actions. And it brought dire consequences, Ryohei could feel it.

It was not just a few lost cargo here and there, or any other business conflict. What Rittoro wanted from them were territories, influence and above all- power. The man played a dangerous game and, with all of Tsuna's intuition and control, they have been dragged in it.

When the Decimo gave him the mission that night in Mafia Land, he knew that something must have happened, and he had not been wrong. Despite being only an easy reconnaissance mission, that Lambo was actually very good at- he was one of the best Vongola spies- he was sure that Rittoro had somehow knew they were there.

While Sawada said that it should not bother him, both men knew he will be angry at himself for this failure. And the confrontation with the don afterwards only seemed to serve as a conclusion that, indeed, they were spotted. But even through all that bad luck, the guardians had learned that someone was helping the Settera famiglia, and that person was important enough that he felt the need to hide himself behind a disguise.

His eye caught two black cars behind him, their tainted windows signaling nothing good. The Sun guardian almost growled.

This was not one of his days. Earlier in the afternoon, he got the rumor that two smaller famiglias were getting down to some shadier business than usual through one of his personal spies. It would have been of no concern to him, but the apparition of the name Settera had been both unsurprising and infuriating. Thinking that he could find something this time, he jumped at the opportunity.

On the bright side, he learned that, indeed, someone _is_ helping Rittoro behind the scenes. Now it only remained to find out who.

On the not so bright side, he was now followed by his henchmen and he had probably arisen more questions at Vongola's behavior. Ups.

Grinning in anticipation of a good racing challenge, he pressed the acceleration pedal, making the car groan.

* * *

A slim, black Audi was like a dirt stain on the multi-colored Italian countryside. Ryohei knew that very well. But even with all this visibility, those henchmen's cars could only gain so much speed, so the man decided to cut the show earlier and go back to headquarters. Cutting through the line of trees that populated the right side of the road, his finger pressed the red button on the backside of the wheel making the car release a screeching noise. Placing both hands on the wheel, the boxer turned it left. In a cloud of dust and earth, a new car emerged from the line of trees. A red sedan decelerated to a normal speed in the opposite direction. Ryohei donned a pair of hologram sunglasses, making it appear on the outside that the car was driven by an old woman.

His plan worked when his chasers sped off without a second glance, in the direction the dust was settling. The Sun guardian whistled before turning a right towards home.

* * *

The Vongola mansion glistened in the afternoon sun, its vast gardens adding to its colossal size. Ryohei sped directly towards his boss's office, his eyes only seeing the double dark wood doors. Servants scattered off to the side in order to avoid the guardian's rage.

The man knew that Sawada was not home yet, still in Florence probably, but he needed the files on the Settera to add what he learned today.

Throwing the doors open he stepped inside- with the destination secret storage room- but stopped in his wake when he felt a wave of cold wash over him. Muscles tensing and fists up ready for a fight, grey eyes locked on his adversaries and widened. The Vindice stood unmoving, clearly not disturbed by his behavior. Looking around the office once, the man concluded nobody else was there, so he returned his attention to the duo.

Before he could open his mouth to ask what was happening _to the extreme_ , a bony hand almost collided with his face. In his thin, long fingers was a simple piece of paper.

Ryohei eyed the paper for a moment, not quite comprehending what he was looking at, before shaking off his stupor and quickly accepting the offering. He knew the Vindice were not the nicest guys around- and not the most patient either.

The zombie backed away as soon as the paper was out of his touch and black smoke began enveloping them both. Before they disappeared though, his partner spoke, voice deep and rusty, grating your very core.

 **"Bring them down."**

After the dust settled, the Sun guardian allowed himself to relax a little bit. But then his eyes landed on the piece of dirty old paper clutched in his right hand and his muscles tensed again. He knew the Vindice did not make any deliveries and such for personal enjoyment, so whatever this was, it was _not_ good.

Gulping, he seated himself at Sawada's desk, standing stiff on the black leather office chair, not quite daring to lean back. Steady fingers unfolded the paper, letting blood red text take over his vision.

 **VONGOLA DECIMO IS DEAD**

 **AND SO WILL THE VONGOLA FALL**

Ryohei's breath hitched, his throat constricting with each passing second he glanced at the message. This could not be right. It was not true.

 _But it can be._

The Sun Guardian leaned back in the comfortable chair, shoulders slumping and mind reeling with unanswered questions. His blank gaze moved from the neatly arranged desktop to the room itself.

This was what Sawada had been planning since he had received that damned alliance invitation. His boss did not change, but his behavior shifted a little bit, enough for the guardians to notice that something was on his mind. They assumed it was stress and paperwork and other such things, but none of them ever thought that this was the reason. Kyoko came to the same conclusion long ago, but instead of leaving the brunette to his own devices, she confronted him, despite her brother's forewarnings to leave the young boss alone.

Nevertheless their discussion was pretty fruitless, since Sawada did not want to open his mouth on the subject, so his sister decided to not open hers or see him for a couple of weeks. That was quite the fight they got at the time. Ryohei had shuddered back then for the man.

He was not sure how he knew, but his instincts were telling him that he was right. Sawada had known that he was going to die, or at least that this was going to happen. The question remained- did he knew that _today_ was the day- and in Florence nonetheless.

With a sudden burst of energy, the extreme boxer lifted himself from the chair, his hands slapping the wood desk, making a couple of papers fall to the ground.

If the Settera famiglia wanted it like this, they'll indulge them. Ryohei was not a man that liked wars, but he enjoyed challenges and was never one to let his pride get trampled on. And he was one of the less prideful lot. The Vongola will make sure to grind those low lives to dust.

This was war.

* * *

 **a/n: sooo i hope you liked the first chapter! more to come later ^^**

 **this fic is the continuation of my one shot 'The best kind of trip is to the future'. I recommend you read that too in order to understand everything better**

 **guess who has read too many Dan Brown books (joke, there are never too many xD ). I may have probably been inspired by some things from his books, but only slightly.**

 **as always, please tell me if you find grammar and spelling mistakes so i can correct them**

 **Reviews and Feedback are appreciated! :D**


	2. Target 2

First things first, call Octopus Head and demand an explanation. Assuming all of the guardians have received the same message, the bomber already knew. Knowing the guy, he was probably beating himself to death, or beating some other poor soul, or just blowing shit up. He had to divert his attention and intellect on a higher- and moral- level if they wanted to find anything at all. Sliding his cell phone from his suit pocket, he made to call the silver haired man, only to be tackled to death in the next moment.

* * *

Lambo ran. He did not know how much time had passed and ignored adamantly his pained feet. He would not stop in fear of his heart aching again. He knew that if he ran, he would not feel anything, or be able to think about anything- and that would sit best with the teen in this moment. His treacherous mind kept replaying the words in his head and bloody ink was imprinted on his retinas.

Finally, his legs gave out and he slumped to the ground, large tears falling to the pavement. A large, warm hand touched his shoulder and his green gaze looked up to see his driver crouched down next to him, a warm expression on his old face. It was not a look of pity, Lambo did not need those, it was a look that conveyed that everything would be all right. Not quite seeing it, but deciding to trust the man, he continued crying but stood up, allowing him to guide him to the car.

Roughly ten minutes later, he was once again running on the long, luxurious corridors of the Vongola mansion, his eyes searching desperately for one of his elder brothers. When he did not find him in any of his favorite spots, he decided that the only possible place was somewhere the boy did not want to be, less see, right now. Swallowing the ever growing lump in his throat, he continued on, pushing the wooden doors away, his feet finding a dark red carpet that muffled his steps.

The dried tears sprung up again when he saw Sasagawa Ryohei standing behind Tsuna's desk. The man had on a grave expression on his face, his phone out and open, ready to make a call.

He did not acknowledge Lambo, which meant that he was very concentrated on his own thoughts. Despite knowing better than to tackle an experienced guardian of the Vongola famiglia in such state of deep thought, the boy flung himself at his older brother, startling the other. His tears sprung up full force and he cried desperately clutching at the older man.

Ryohei's earlier stiffness receded and he hugged the boy back, patting him on his back. He knew how he felt.

Letting the Lightning guardian cling onto him, Ryohei lifted his phone to his ear, mentally chanting for the other to answer.

 _"What now, Turf Head?!"_ Gokudera's angry voice shouted over the speaker making the Sun guardian cringe at the sheer volume.

"I hope you are not making your manicure right now. Get your ass over here Octopus Head, we've got trouble." Ryohei spoke, his tone a calmer note.

Gokudera snorted. _"I am not an idiot like you. I'll be there in ten."_

With that, the line went dead. Ryohei smiled. Seemed like Gokudera was better at handling this. That past- or future- experience has proved better for them after all. Quickly deciding who to call next, he pressed the button, absentmindedly rubbing Lambo shoulders.

 _"What is it, Onii-san?"_

The boxer frowned at Yamamoto's blank tone. He concluded he was either very affected, or very angry. Ryohei would bet all his money on the latter.

"I need you to come to Palermo. Now."

His voice was thankfully still steady. He awaited the other to answer, hearing a couple of screeching noises.

 _"Ahaha, will do. But I'll need you to deal with the police after that."_

Rolling his eyes, Ryohei agreed and closed the conversation. So far so good, he only had three more to bring here. The piece of technology vibrated in his hand in that moment, signaling an incoming message. Pressing it open, the white haired man chuckled. It was typical for Hibari to only send a sentence long message.

 _'I'm coming to bite those carnivores to death.'_

Judging by the use of the word carnivores, it seemed that the Cloud had accepted the challenge. Ryohei smirked, dialing one last number. The person picked up on the second ring.

"Mukuro, where are you?"

 _"Hmm, what business may you have with me?"_ The sly voice enquired sending a wave of fury through him. The damn Mist would do better to listen for once.

"If you wanna play the idiot that's fine, but you better not deny that fucking paper you've received."

Most of the time, Sasagawa Ryohei was unchanged, careless, _extreme_ boxer looking for a good challenge. But in the last years, the adult and mafioso in him would wake up and take control and that was a very good thing, he thought. He had learned long ago that there was no place for reckless kids in the mafia.

The other line was silent for a moment and the Sun guardian thought his friend had hung up, but a sudden hand on his shoulder made him think otherwise.

"You should watch who you're talking to, Sasagawa Ryohei." Mukuro's mismatched eyes glinted dangerously in the low light coming through the velvet light brown curtains. His mouth was twisted in a bloody smirk.

Ryohei grinned haughtily right back."Ah, don't worry, I never forget."

The Mist's eye twitched but he refrained from making any more comments.

A sudden shift from Lambo distracted his attention from the man, and Ryohei saw the teen disentangle from him and fling himself at Chrome instead.

"Chrome- chan..." the boy sniffed, hugging the girl as if his life depended on it. The female guardian smiled sadly at the boy, reluctantly hugging him back. This was the second time something like this has happened. Lambo needed all the comfort he could get.

Looking one last time around the office, he opened the door.

"The others should be here soon. Let's get down to business."

* * *

A flight from Japan to Italy should usually lasts 12 hours with the fastest jets. Hibari Kyoya made it in 5. How he did that? No one will ever know.

The steel gazed man walked through the halls of the Vongola mansion with an aura of vicious bloodthirst, his eyes darting from left to right, daring anyone to come closer or stop him.

His dark hair was a bit ruffled from the journey and the speed driving through the Italian countryside, disregarding every stop and throwing to the wind safety and rules. Only one thought occupied his mind: the omnivore was killed by some other sly omnivore and he wanted to find him and fight him. He needed to see how much stronger this new omnivore was.

Turning a sharp left, his sight settled on the grand doors of the meeting room, a room he and the guardians frequented almost daily, and where debriefings and strategies were discussed. His instincts proved right when he was met with a desolate sight that made him want to vomit. Well, at least it wasn't so bad.

The herbivores' first instinct had obviously been to gather and crowd the spacious room and mourn or whatever people did when someone died. Hibari did not have time for such things, they could cry themselves to death for all he cared. He had new animals to hunt and catch. Walking into the lavishly decorated room, his keen eyes surveyed the idiots and concluded that it wasn't _that_ bad after all.

The idiot right hand man and stupid baseball idiot were locked in a fierce discussion, looking for all intents and purposes, not like the emotional fools they were in reality. The pineapple haired herbivore- that he had a promise of death to keep to- was slouched on a chair, a cup of tea and a cookie in his mouth. The eyepatch girl was patting the cow herbivore on the back soothingly. Of course, Hibari deadpanned, this was not surprising at all to see. From all of them, he was the only one expected to cry in such case. And at last, the extreme herbivore was standing to the side quietly, his eyes glossed over in deep thought and almost brooding.

Hibari looked again. Then again. Then he growled, his right hand itching to take out a tonfa.

His actions attracted everyone's attention but he did not care. In two strides, he closed the distance, only a glinting tonfa standing between them.

"You have ten seconds to tell us everything you know, herbivore." The black haired man growled, a smoldering glare in his eyes.

He would grudgingly admit that Sasagawa Ryohei had changed from the foolish idiot he had once been, but that did not mean he was still not a foolish idiot. Even in this situation, he would not look like he murdered the omnivore, so Hibari came to the conclusion that he did the next worst thing: he knew something important. And if he did not tell them fast, he would have to extract it forcefully.

"He is gonna do that. We were waiting for your late ass." Gokudera scowled, standing up from his spot. He looked around the room once, counting their heads before gesturing to the large table in the middle of the room.

"Let's start the meeting. Obviously all of you know why we are all here." His calm tone betrayed a note of urgency.

Hibari seated himself as far away as possible and crossed his arms. He would like to see how this played out.

"Of course." Mukuro agreed, an acrid smile tinted on his face, "We are here because a certain right hand man," he drawled looking at Gokudera pointedly, "Could not take care of his little boss."

The bomber remained impassive, feeling all eyes in the room trained on him. He sighed.

"All right. Let's take this from the beginning."

Mukuro raised a finger to argue, but the bomber's heated glare stopped him mid-air.

"I speak. You listen." Gokudera spoke slowly daring him to defy his order. Mukuro sighed dramatically but suited himself.

"Go ahead." Yamamoto urged, his fingers were tapping on the wooden table impatiently.

The right hand man cleared his throat.

"The Tenth and I were in Florence since yesterday. Today, he requested to meet with Maurizio alone at Palazzo Vecchio to discuss the tax fares."

"Never heard of this Maurizio guy." Mukuro flipped his hair over his shoulder. Almost all his colleagues rolled their eyes.

" _I was hesitant_ ," the bomber continued, willing the irritating Mist to go away, "But the Tenth assured me he could handle it and so I did not have any other choice."

"And then he goes and gets himself killed. _That_ 's irony." The illusionist drawled once again. Hibari snorted from his seat.

"Fucking irony or not I don't care!" Lambo exploded, looking almost desperate. He jumped up from his place, startling all of them.

"How could you let this happen to Tsuna, Stupi-Dera?!" The teen shouted, pointing at the man."Why weren't you there, that's your job. YOU LET TSUNA GET KILLED!"

"Calm down Lambo, Gokudera couldn't have known that this was going to happen. I'm sure he wouldn't have left Tsuna's side otherwise." Yamamoto's smile was sour.

"I doubt that Tsunayoshi is dead." Mismatched eyes crinkled. "He's just playing a game with us, that's all."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?!" Lambo asked, his emerald eyes glistening with tears.

"Watch your language, cow." Gokudera warned, throwing the boy a disapproving look.

"You care for my damn language in a situation like this!"

The bomber scowled. "I hate to agree with the damn pineapple," he spoke slowly, as if the words pained him, "but he may be right. The Tenth could very well be in hiding. Either way, we have to take action. Everyone had their messages delivered by the Vindice right?"

They all took out the pieces of paper, putting -or throwing- them on the table.

"They all say the same thing." Yamamoto remarked looking at each message with curiosity.

"Do you think they wrote it?" Hibari spoke for the first time.

"No, what reason would they have? They are supposedly allies of the Vongola." Gokudera scratched his chin thoughtfully.

By this point, Lambo was almost pulling his hair out. "Why are you people so _calm_?!"

The right hand man scowled. "Because we learn from past mistakes. And the first one was that we panicked."

He spoke reminding everyone of what transpired in a disastrous future that will never be. "Second was, we were separated. You see anyone not here, stupid cow?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Lambo opened his mouth to answer nonetheless.

The silver haired man cut him off before he could begin again. "We have to find out what happened first and then we can cry when this is over. The Vongola itself is in danger now. This is what the Tenth would have wanted."

At the mention of Tsuna, Lambo visibly stiffened, before his shoulders slumped. Somehow or another, the stupid Gokudera was right.

"Where are we supposed to even begin?" Yamamoto scratched his head, lost.

"That's where I come in." Ryohei's voice surprised everyone. The man had been so silent it was unnerving. They waited with baited breath his story.

"When we were in Mafia Land some days ago," The white haired man began, "Sawada gave me and Lambo a reconnaissance mission on the Settera famiglia."

Shoulders tensed, the atmosphere in the room becoming denser.

"Somehow or the other, we were spotted."

"What!" A ringed fist collided with the table.

Ryohei continued, unperturbed. "Sawada said to not mind it, but I had this nagging feeling that Rittoro would do something. The confrontation that night had been enough clue. Today I went on another one alone, and thankfully I found out something else that makes my earlier thoughts solid. Unfortunately, I've been spotted again."

"Herbivore," Hibari's voice was laced with warning, "You better stay away from reconnaissance missions from now on."

Ryohei chuckled."I suppose you have a point. Anyway, what I found out was that the Settera famiglia is indeed helped by an external force."

"Ah." Lambo exclaimed, a dawning revelation in his face. "There was this masked man that met with Rittoro on that night on the island."

"A masked man doesn't help us very much." Mukuro said, sipping his tea.

"Do you think it was an illusion?" Chrome's timid voice echoed around the room.

The Sun guardian shook his head."Couldn't be. I made sure of that. I've seen him two times already. It's no illusion, but he sure hides his identity good."

"There was something else." Gokudera began, green eyes scanning the room's occupants. "The Vindice. When they left they said something to me: _cerca trova_ , bring them down."

At the mention of this phrase, everyone stood up from their seats.

"Kufufu, the Vindice are playing a dangerous game." Mukuro smiled sadistically.

"Those zombie herbivores are going down this time."

"Wait wait wait," Yamamoto waved his hands trying to make peace."So the Vindice told us the same phrase. Almost. You think this is a clue too?"

"If they told us all, then it probably was part of the message they were supposed to deliver." Ryohei reasoned, looking a little lost.

" _Seek and find._ What kind of person sends such message?" Mukuro's smile dropped, his mouth becoming a firm line.

"Probably someone that wants to give you a clue." A high pitched voice said. The guardians looked in surprise at Reborn who was leaning on the door. They did not even hear him enter.

"So nice to see you are all fired up and cooperating. It almost tears me up. They grow up so fast." The hitman wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, theatrically.

Mukuro and Hibari visibly twitched.

"They said something else to me." Gokudera said, successfully diverting another costly fight. "They showed me a photo of Maurizio dead."

"What, but-"

" _And_ they told me he was the killer. In the photo there were two blood pools at a small distance one near the other. The guy had a revolver near his head. The other pool had no body."

The bomber gulped, knowing what was to come. "They also told me they have the body. 'It contains secrets' they said."

Lambo whimpered, looking ready to cry again.

"And then they told me 'Bring them down' like all of you."

"Seems like the Vindice may be on our side, after all." Yamamoto crossed his arms, trying to process all the information.

"That, or they are playing with us. We cannot trust that organization." Mukuro said, his voice betraying an edge of warning.

"I agree with Mukuro. We should not involve ourselves too much with them." Reborn said, "For all we know, they may be as clueless as we are. They were probably just the messengers." His fedora shadowed his eyes as he spoke next." _Cerca trova_ may very well be Tsuna's message to us. We need to seek and find. What? I dunno, that's for you to figure out."

With one last smirk, the hitman exited the room, leaving them with more questions than answers.

"Well, that was strange." The Rain guardian tried to joke but failed. Every one of his friends looked a different shade of desolate and bored, in Mist and Cloud's cases.

"Question is _where_ do we even begin to 'seek and find'." Gokudera mumbled quietly.

"I thought the message was pretty obvious," Mukuro paused, feeling all glares on him, " _Florence_. The first place to investigate is always the crime scene." The illusionist explained.

The Guardians thought it over for a moment, before each one of them reluctantly nodded. They were not so comfortable going back there, but they all realized, in their own ways, that they did not have a choice anymore.

* * *

"Enma trust me, I would not ask you this if it wasn't serious." Gokudera scowled at his phone. There was a flurry of movement on the other line before it went deadly silent.

"You dropped your paperwork again, didn't you?"

The boss of their most trusted ally laughed, embarrassed, and Gokudera had to sigh. Contrast to the Tenth- who had become less wimpy- and more organized with his life (he did not have a choice, but that is another story) - Enma did not progress much from his past self, unfortunately.

He was the same ditzy and inattentive idiot, but at least he was a helpful guy.

"Look, you've gotta look after the Vongola for a while, got it?"

Enma's answer was expected. "WHAT?"

Gokudera held the phone away from his ear, cringing at the sheer volume."Bu- but! I got _tons_ of paperwork, I can't deal with the Vongola as well!" The red haired man exclaimed, sounding almost desperate.

"Did Tsuna- kun mention what is so important that he had to take a leave? Is he sick?! Did something happen to his family?"

The barrage of questions was cut short by the bomber. He'd had enough of this.

"Look Cozato, you gonna help the Tenth or not? If you're such a weakling to do it, say it, so I can call Byakuran and be done with it."

There was a long pause on the other side of the line, before Enma spoke.

"Fine. But I expect a long vacation after this."

Gokudera pressed the end button, but not before hearing the man on the other line sniff in defeat.

"That was a little underhanded, don't you think 'Dera?" Yamamoto grinned, trying hard not to laugh. A car horn attracted their attention in time to see a truck go their way- or the other way around.

The Rain guardian swerved sharply, making the tires screech.

"Goddammit baseball freak, keep your eyes on the freakin' road!"

The right hand man almost yelled, his hands itching to strangle the idiot.

"I'd advise you to drive correctly, lest you want to die, Yamamoto Takeshi." Mukuro warned, peeling himself off from the back seat window.

"Seriously, what's with you?!" Lambo rubbed his head from besides him. A low growl came from next to the teen, making him shiver.

Their driver only laughed joyfully, oblivious to the threats on his life, and turned another left, entering on one of the main streets of old Florence.

After a fast flight, the guardians, surprisingly together- they threatened/ bribed Mukuro and Hibari- had wanted to rent a car, but the only ones remaining were the small, four person ones. So the group of six grown men had to squeeze in a Renault Sedan, and were off to Palazzo Vecchio. Unfortunately, they could not call their Vongola contacts since none were informed of the new situation. They had decided to keep it quiet for now, until they will have enough clues to outline the next step.

After another couple of minutes of sitting too close to each other, the tires of the car screeched to a halt in front of the personnel entrance of the museum.

Hibari almost flew off from inside, taking the door and everything that stood in his way with him. Ryohei climbed out after him, stretching his stiff muscles, followed by a squashed Lambo and lastly Mukuro, who was straightening his crumpled clothes.

The luckiest ones were Gokudera, who stood in the pilot seat- arguing that he knew the way- and Yamamoto, who grabbed the wheel first when Hibari and Ryohei were too occupied to fight one another for the driver's seat.

Walking up the ancient steps, they were greeted by the assistant of the man they were researching about. His name was Laurenzio apparently, and he was half- italian, grown up in Sienna. Hibari made it clear that this time around, he would be taking care of information gathering.

"Welcome, please come in." The light brown haired man smiled warmly. He ushered them all inside, before taking his place at the head of the group, guiding the group through the building's halls.

"Sorry to have called so abruptly." Gokudera formally apologized, though he was evidently not sorry.

"Nonsense, it is my duty after all. After _Signor_ Maurizio's death, things have been hectic. What is this item that Decimo requires?"

"Ah, that..." Yamamoto grinned sheepishly. Suddenly his eyes went steel hazel, a dangerous glint making its way up to the surface. In a matter of seconds, their young guide was lying on the floor in a deep sleep.

"Tch, why do you all keep leaving scraps in your ways." The bomber huffed, walking away.

"Haha, you're one to talk." The swordsman laughed following suit.

They navigated through a couple more corridors, before exiting in a smaller one, the bright yellow tape gathering their attention.

"You were not wrong herbivore." Hibari's voice came from the other side of the tape.

"When the fuck did you get there?" Gokudera swore, clearly surprised. He had not felt the disciplinarian slip away.

The dark haired man simply ignored the comment, choosing to crouch down for a better look. "This blood is the omnivore's."

Lambo almost recoiled. He did not want to know, or even see this. Fresh tears gathered behind his eyes but he pushed them back stubbornly. He had to be strong this time.

Everyone got closer for a better look, leaving the young Lightning guardian near a piece of furniture that looked like a cupboard. The teen realized it was an exhibit, after all. Stepping to the side to take a closer look, Lambo yelped, his emerald eyes wide in fear.

Behind the glass, he recognized the exhibit as Dante's Death mask. But it was not the wax mask that made the boy so scared. On the glass that separated Dante's mask from the rest of the world, a message was written in dark red ink that looked very much like blood. Resisting the urge to throw up, Lambo stepped forward for a closer look. At first glance, the message did not make sense, but then he realized it was written in _Japanese_ not Italian. Green eyes went wide as he struggled with his bad language skills to decipher the Kanji. He felt something sticky under his foot and looked down. This time he yelled out loud. He had been staying in a pool of blood!

"Wh- why didn't I smell anything?" Lambo shivered involuntary.

The other guardians heard the commotion and immediately left the yellow tape zone, joining him in front of the exhibit.

"What is it now stupid co-" Gokudera's mouth snapped closed as soon as his eyes locked on the glass door. He lifted his foot to take a step closer, but Lambo grabbed his arm.

"There's a pool of blood there!"

Looking down, they all realized that their youngest family member was right.

"What's it doing here?" Yamamoto frowned.

Hibari crouched down again to inspect the blood. "It's the omnivore."

"Then that means that Sawada left us a message there." Ryohei squinted, his eyes trying to decipher the words, but failed. "I cannot read it _TO THE EXTREME_!" He threw his hands in the air.

Gokudera pushed him away."Obviously, you ignorant one. Let me see."

The silver haired man looked it over once, before turning around and announcing."It says: _All roads lead to the past_."

"You looked at it for, like, two seconds and you could read it?! Are you sure it says that?" Lambo exclaimed obviously concerned for the correctitude of the message. He knew for a fact, that Kanji were hard to read and can have multiple readings. What if the message said to look in the back garden instead?!

"Don't exaggerate, Lambo- kun." Chrome's soft voice came from behind him, making him jump."I don't think Boss would go through the trouble to make us look in the back garden."

Lambo ducked his head, embarrassed."How do you always do that?"

Chrome smiled shyly."I've known you for a long time, you know."

Before the teen could retort, Yamamoto spoke.

"Well, I can see the sense in that, but how does it help us?" The swordsman scratched his head, helpless.

"It doesn't really." Ryohei crossed his arms.

Gokudera pulled out his phone, taking a quick photo of the message."If the Tenth wanted to write this, it must mean something."

Just then, mist started filling the hall and Mukuro appeared from it."I've found the videos. They are all set to go."

The right hand man nodded."Ok. Let's see what really happened."

* * *

The control room was really small, almost as small as the car. Not to mention that none of its occupants liked being near each other, their personal space being the most precious of all. The tension in the air was almost palpable and the atmosphere temperature was below zero. All in all, the room felt really tight at the moment. And it did not help in the least that the worst was yet to come.

Lambo gulped, not sure if he really wanted to see it. He argued that he needed to know. Otherwise he would remain the same clueless, ignorant kid and he promised himself to never be like that again, _ever_.

The camera footage was replaying the events from yesterday. Suddenly, a man in his late fifties came into view, and with him, their boss. Tsunayoshi was talking amiably. Both men laughed at a joke the brunette had probably made. Lambo's eyes prickled again, but he rubbed them quickly.

Mukuro fast forwarded it to a few minutes later. This time, it was another camera recording, showing both near the Dante mask. Several pair of eyes widened.

Maurizio had a gun pointed at their boss, ready to fire, when a dark shadow approached from behind him. The man suddenly kneeled and dropped dead, a dark liquid, that the teen concluded was blood, pooling quickly around his body.

In that moment almost everyone in the room shouted "Maurizio is not the killer!"

It could be clearly seen that Tsuna tensed in that moment. The dark shadow approached the young don. They talked for a few moments, before the dark form pulled the trigger.

Lambo turned his head away as his older brother figure dropped to the ground. He prayed for the video to end but the black shadow was not done. He stepped towards the fallen body of the Vongola don, its body still black like the camera had been dirty, but still deciphering movement. It was unnerving to look at a moving form without any clue to who could it be. The shadow took Tsuna's right arm, clearly slipping off the Vongola Ring from his fingers. He placed it in his coat, before disappearing. Literally. He just disappeared in place, like a ghost.

"What the fuck?" Gokudera spoke everyone's mind.

A few moments later, the video showed Tsuna, moving to stand and dragging himself in the direction of the death mask. He lifted a bloody hand, writing on the glass.

The bomber looked away, his whole body tense. No matter what he convinced himself that his mission was now, seeing his beloved boss in his last moments made the pain in his chest almost unbearable. He had made himself a promise long ago that he would die before Tsuna- preferably protecting him. But it seemed that Fate was never on their side to begin with.

Yamamoto's mouth was pressed in a firm line, his fists clenched at his sides. He had never liked his job as a hitman, no matter how much everyone insisted he was born for it. Taking lives was serious business, and the Rain guardian had never liked conflict to begin with. But now, seeing Tsuna, the one who had saved his life so many times, and to whom he owned his life, no matter how much the brunette insisted it was not the case, he was prepared to _demolish_ the bastards who did this. He swore to find the shadow bastard and kill him slowly.

Chrome covered her mouth, tears spilling from her eye. She knew it would be painful, but the pain fluttering in her chest was making her have trouble breathing. She looked away, trying to regain her wits. She had to be strong, if not for Mukuro- sama, at least for the cow kid.

He looked the worst out of them, almost on the very edge of having a breakdown. He needed all the support he could receive and she knew that Tsuna would be really worried for the young guardian. She had made it her mission long ago to take care of him. Through all these years, there was a soft spot for him in her heart.

Ryohei's scowl deepened the more he gazed at the image on the screen. He had been right after all, that was the same guy who was talking with Rittoro some days ago. That meant that he was more involved than they liked to think. They had to find him and take back the Ring. His only consolation for the moment was that his unsuccessful missions had some results, at least.

Mukuro always thought that his feelings for the Vongola's boss ranged from killing him, to taking over his body- and effectively killing him- to trying to find as many torturous situations to put him through as he could. But even with all his efforts, the man had gone from fretting over _him,_ to not batting an eye at his antics. Even so, he continued his games since he had found that there were not many things in the last years that he enjoyed doing, but through all this, his intentions of maiming the young don had not changed.

Or so he thought.

He was obviously concerned when his fingers started shaking as his mismatched eyes gazed at the fallen body of Sawada Tsunayoshi, and then at his struggling form. He was trying so hard to send them this measly message that did not make any sense. But that did not mean anything. Probably. Scowling in irritation at his behavior, his eyes narrowed. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, he had known from the beginning that Sawada Tsunayoshi was a dangerous person. He may be not so powerful on the outside, but people that tended to hang around him changed- mostly for the better. He had this aura and influence over you that you could not resist. And most of all, ever since he had freed Mukuro from the Vendice prison, the brunette had started to change him as well.

He had made a group of people with such contrasting personalities come closer and closer together during these years and now they even worked _together_.

Granted, they have learned from past mistakes. Even if Mukuro did not mind Tsunayoshi dead, he surely did not want events from a changed future to happen again. For once, he'll have to swallow his pride and mentality and work with the idiots. And if Sawada Tsunayoshi proved to be alive, _again_ , he'll make sure it was not for long.

Hibari Kyoya frowned at the image on the screen. He did not like that shadow. The carnivorous appearance did not have anything on it to be recognized with and it irritated him to no end. He wanted to find it and bite it to death. He flinched when the brunette was shot on the screen. Even without sound, it resonated pretty clearly inside his mind. He swore under his breath for the thousandth time. Here he was, giving the omnivore a second glance after he practically swore he did not care what happened to him. But that was not true, and the disciplinarian knew that very well.

In the past his statement was more than true, but ever since _then_ , ever since Sawada Tsunayoshi had taken the seat at the head of the famiglia, he had put on Hibari an invisible and flexible leash, but a leash nonetheless. And the carnivore felt it every time he received an order. He felt like a lion in the care of a mouse.

 _And he did not like it._

* * *

 **a/n: I wanted to post this earlier but...I got lazy (ups)**

 **I will try to post the following chapters more quickly * crosses fingers in silent prayer ***

 **As always, please tell me if you spot any grammar or spelling mistakes!**

 **Reviews and Feedback are appreciated! :D**


	3. Target 3

The flight back to Palermo was unusually quiet. After everything that had transpired and they learned, none of the guardians seemed to be in any mood for conversation. Rather, each one of them was in a different stage of brooding.

When the Sicily sun finally welcomed them on the lively streets, Gokudera spoke for the first time in two hours.

"We're gonna return to the Headquarters for now. Tomorrow I expect all of you in the Conference hall."

He eyed the Mist and Cloud pointedly from his seat in the limousine.

Hibari shrugged, bored. "My mission is to find that carnivore shadow and bite it to death." That mostly meant an OK.

Mukuro flipped his hair back and smirked. "Expect nothing more from me on this matter anymore, Mr. Right hand man."

Gokudera's eye twitched, but before he could lash out at the bastard, Ryohei yelled out first.

"MUKURO YOU NEED TO COME _TO THE EXTREME_. WE NEED YOUR HELP!"

All of the occupants visibly winced at the sheer volume. Mismatched eyes glinted with mirth.

"Oho, that's new. I thought myself to be a hindrance to you-"

Gokudera snorted. "Only when you act like a princess."

A second later the bomber seemed to realize what he had said as he turned his head to glare pointedly out of the window. If one had a magnifying glass, you could see the slight widening of Mukuro's eyes.

"Point is," The Rain guardian began, sensing the pulsing discomfort emanating from his friend, "We need everyone's help if we are going to succeed in finding the guy."

"Mukuro- sama," Chrome began shyly from next to him, "You are curious about him right?"

The Mist guardian grimaced. "Kufufu, fine." He agreed,though internally he was frowning. He did not like that his Nagi had used his curiosity to best him. Yes, he was _very_ curious- but that was his nature. He was a very curious man indeed. And he would have continued on alone anyway. He believed it was better to not have this hindrances around him. They were a burden, and he could not take action with them ordering him around.

Unbeknownst to him, Chrome already knew all these, and she made a mental note to talk to Gokudera when they arrived. Mukuro- sama's help would undoubtedly be an advantage, but they had to know how to play him. And unfortunately for him, Chrome was just the right person for the job.

* * *

Kyoko Sasagawa sighed tiredly as she sipped her tea. Today had been an unusually tiring day- both emotionally and physically. The auburn haired woman replayed in her mind her earlier meeting with Reborn. The shock was still swarming her chest, but she tried her best to not let it cloud her mind.

She had almost broken down crying when the hitman told her that, no, it was not a test and Tsuna was really dead. Thankfully, her training kicked in, and she refrained herself from displaying weakness, as she had been taught.

But now she was alone, and she could not help the fresh wave of tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. She knew the story, but that did not stop her from questioning: Where was Gokudera? Why wasn't anyone there with Tsuna? How could he let his guard down like that?!

She knew the brunette was very powerful, feared throughout the Underworld despite his negations. She had witnessed his power first hand, and her trips to the darkest corners of the Mafia world had led her through all kinds of rumors and stories and _she knew._

 _So then why?_

Reborn told her the guardians left for Florence, to search the scene once again and she had to wonder why they took Lambo with them. Sure, the boy was a guardian, but he was still so young. Her protective instincts rose to the surface, but she refrained from lashing out at Reborn. She will have enough time to give those grown up idiots a piece of her own mind soon.

* * *

The mansion was unusually quiet and it gave the young guardian an unsettling feeling. It did not help that his companions were as silent as death itself.

He knew that, whenever Tsuna left the Headquarters, there were two options: everything remained quiet and unmoving, as if the time stopped and only the young don himself could unstop it. Or everything descended into chaos, fights broke out between the guardians and bets were thrown left and right- even the staff joined such festivities- but in the end something was destroyed, and the party was off, in fear of an angry boss that would mutilate them all to death for adding more bills.

Those were fun times, Lambo reminiscenced with regret. Unfortunately, the mansion was now lost in time forever, since its master was gone.

Swallowing down a sob, the green eyed boy looked up at Gokudera's broad back, his posture still proud, moving with a learned grace through the halls.

Only Lambo knew how much the silver haired _baka_ had suffered to obtain that posture. But he suffered proudly. He and Gokudera were immediately put under walking lessons, seeing as they both tended to slouch when they walked and their postures were more for a neighbourhood gang, than an esteemed mafia famiglia.

Their horrified teacher had drilled in them the correct way to walk and hold themselves, and from then on, he had not seen the man slouch once. Unlike him, who only walked like he was taught when formal events and meetings arose on the horizon. But such was life, and life tended to be cruel most of the time.

The grand doors that signaled they have arrived to the guardian's quarters appeared in sight and the boy exhaled in relief. He would go straight to bed and sleep, or at least cry if he could not. His wish would not come true unfortunately, as along with the doors, a person entered their sight as well.

It was a medium height woman, dressed in a knee high length black dress with assorting high heels. Her long, caramel brown hair cascaded on her back in light waves and her warm amber eyes could melt even the coldest icebergs. And today, that raging fire was directed at all of them.

Ryohei visibly halted in his step when he saw his younger sister leaning on the dark red wooden doors, but he regained his composure quickly, jogging up to her.

"Yo, Kyoko!" His voice was steady and cheerful, not betraying a hint of the events that transpired today. "Wha' cha doing here?"

His question was met with silence as Kyoko's gaze remained fixed on the group as a whole. When the other guardians were close enough to be in hearing range, she finally straightened herself, her arms remaining crossed.

Hibari growled, signaling that if she did not make way, he would bite. The prefect was in no mood for happy talk. Fortunately, he will be disappointed.

For a small moment, Kyoko let her training reign over her senses, becoming the very woman every mafioso dreaded- the strong willed, powerful one. Her eyes burning with unshed tears and rage, she asked in a loud steady voice.

"I am searching for my _boyfriend_." The accented word made most of them flinch. "Mind informing me where I can find him?" This time her eyes locked with Gokudera's emerald ones.

The man froze, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Uhuh. He forgot that he was supposedly in Florence with the Tenth.

"Uh..." The bomber stuttered before clearing his throat. _The fuck_ did he begin to stutter for now?!

"He's in a meeting." This time his voice was steady enough to be satisfied.

Kyoko made a sound between a snort and a huff, her foot beginning to tap on the floor impatiently.

"Yes, in a meeting with _death_ in _Florence_. I heard the _Palazzo Vecchio_ has a very popular spot to be _shot_ in."

Every word she accentuated resonated loudly down the empty hall and into their ears.

Ryohei's jaw went slack as he stuttered incomprehensibly.

"Bu- but h- ow did you _extremely_ \- !"

"Enough!" The woman yelled making her brother, Yamamoto, Gokudera and Lambo's backs straighten from reflex. Hibari was watching the exchange impassively from a comfortable spot near the terrace entrance, while Mukuro was looking in amusement at their reactions with Chrome frowning softly next to him.

"When did you plan to tell us what happened?" She demanded shifting her center of gravity and from one foot to the other.

"We thought we should better have some solid evidence fir-" Yamamoto began amiably, but Kyoko was not done.

"Solid evidence for what?! Where is his body?" She almost chocked the word out.

Her question was met with silence. Kyoko blinked looking at them incredulously. After a few more moments, Gokudera answered hesitantly.

"The Vindice have it. They told me that."

"Why didn't they return it? And what has Vindice got to do with all of this?"

"Kyoko, we should not have this discussion here." Ryohei's smile did not reach his grim eyes.

Kyoko placed a hand on her hip, "I am not leaving without _solid_ information, Onii-chan. And neither will you, until I am satisfied with your answers."

"Herbivores." The Cloud guardian warned, his glare zeroing on the woman. She did not even flinch under his gaze. Raising an eyebrow, he decided to humor her.

"They left a message to all of us."

His sentence shocked the guardians but attracted Kyoko's curiosity. Her eyes brightened, happy to have finally cracked the wall a little.

"What kind of message?"

"Kyoya." The Sun guardian warned, but the Cloud was having none of it. He did not plan on spending the rest of the day in the freaking hall.

"If you don't want me to tell her herbivores, then you better tell her yourself. I am not going to spend the rest of my day here." His deadpan tone made Kyoko smile.

Mukuro nodded. "Kufufu, for once I agree with the carnivore. I want my bubble bath."

His serious tone did not let any room for joking, making the other guardians sweat drop.

"Just when I though you couldn't be more girly." Gokudera clicked his tongue, sighing. "Fine, come on. This is no place for a discussion." He repeated his friend's earlier statement, gesturing to change places.

Kyoko grinned, pleased that she had managed to finally break through. For a moment there she doubted herself, and that only served to make her angrier. When she began her training, she swore to not be a dead weight anymore. Reborn had told her years ago that if she survived his training, then she would survive everything else. Years later she agreed. These idiots, along with _her_ idiot, had always left her and Haru out of everything related to the mafia.

 _'Never again.'_ She thought as she followed Gokudera down the carpeted hall.

This time she would make a difference.

* * *

Haru tapped her foot impatiently on the polished wooden floor. With her arms crossed, she was the very epitome of an angry woman. Today at lunch, her best friend Kyoko had called her. Normally she is very happy when she gets to catch up with her friend. The two girls were separated when Kyoko went to train under Reborn, Haru was taken under Lal Mirch's unmerciful wings and both of them did not have a moment's rest for a long time. But that was some years ago, and now the two usually met on weekends or went together on vacations.

Today she had a free morning so she took I-Pin out to the beach with her. The weather was just perfect, the Sicilian sun not having enough power to scorch the land just yet.

It had been a good day, until Kyoko called. The unsettling feeling at seeing the caller ID increased tenfold at the woman's words. Apparently, Tsuna was dead.

The brunette woman almost collapsed crying, had she not been in such a public place. But apparently, she had not heard the whole thing. There were some ups and downs in Kyoko's story, not to mention the details were sketchy at best, so she decided to face this problem head on. Gokudera Hayato was going to get it for keeping such secret from her.

She had been waiting in his room for almost two hours, when the bomber's door closed behind him, looking dead tired.

His green eyes settled on her form, and he swore under his breath.

"Don't remember calling you today." The man mumbled, loosening his tie.

"You didn't." Haru's tone was even. She decided to play it nice, even though she knew he was not going to crack with this strategy.

"Ah."

This time he did not even turn around. His suit jacket went next to the floor along with his favorite leather bracelet.

Something was bothering him. Haru almost snorted, placing her hands on her hips ,she abandoned the good girlfriend act.

"Weren't you in Florence with Tsuna- san until tomorrow?"

Gokudera paused in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt. "We came back earlier than expected."

"And where is Tsuna- san now?" Haru looked at him expectantly.

The bomber turned around, a fierce scowl on his face. His burning glare took her by surprise.

"None of your business, _stupid woman_." He growled, reverting to calling her by her old nickname. "If you are here just to admire, then leave."

"Not until you tell me what happened!" She exclaimed, her eyes desperately searching his for an explanation. But there was nothing there, only emptiness.

"I'm not in the mood for stories."

"Then I will ask Kyoko." She turned around, intent on leaving the room before she decided to leave him one more message.

"She called me, you know." Haru's voice had never been so quiet to Gokudera's ears. "And she told me he is dead."

He felt her turn around, her concerned gaze burning a hole through him.

"What else has happened?"

"Nothing." His voice mirrored her own silent tone. "What else could there be?"

Two thin arms embraced him from behind and for the first time that day, Gokudera allowed himself to cry.

* * *

Kyoko gazed outside in the darkness, but her mind could only see her earlier confrontation with the guardians. Even if she now knew everything, it did not hurt less. Actually, it hurt so much more.

They explained everything, from how Tsuna was shot, to his message and the creepster in the shadows. The woman buried her head in the blue pillow in her lap, willing everything to go away. The guardians insisted she could do nothing, even _they_ did not know what to do next. They've invited her either way, to the meeting next morning, but she decided not to join them.

It would be better to let them figure out some of the clues. In the meantime, she would do her own research.

Grasping her phone from the nightstand, she sent a quick message to one of her most trusted contacts. She did not feel like giving orders today, so she refrained from calling. Finishing up, she let the device fly into one of the room's corners, feeling the long past due tears spring forth.

* * *

The next morning came quickly and before Lambo realized, he was sitting in a chair, in the conference room, looking back and forth between Storm and Rain as they argued about the video recordings they saw yesterday.

"Shut up or I will bite you to death."

Apparently, Hibari did not enjoy heated debates either.

"Then what do you purpose we talk about, skylark?" Gokudera scowled at the impassive man.

Before he could answer, Ryohei joined in. "Wait so, that Maurizio guy is not the killer," he began pointing at one of the videotapes they took from the museum, "but the Vindice told you that he is." This time he pointed at Gokudera, who continued to scowl.

"So what's the answer, _to the extreme_?!"

A little bit of the old Ryohei showed in that moment as the man yelled, holding his head with both hands.

The bomber groaned. "I don't know."

"This would have been avoided if you took the photo." Mukuro said nonchalantly from the sofa he was lounging on.

"They did not give it to me-"

"So let's recap: the guy that's supposedly the killer, is not, and some shadow guy is helping the Settera famiglia." Yamamoto counted looking at them for confirmation.

"So much depression in here, I cannot breath." A joyful voice came from the direction of the doors.

Byakuran flew in, his little white wings fluttering quietly on his back.

"You're not gonna know how to walk anymore if you keep flying like that." Lambo drawled, his head resting on his left palm. He was long past the point of even considering the man a threat.

The white haired mafioso only smiled widely, letting his feet touch the ground before throwing himself into an empty chair.

"That doesn't count y'know..." the boy mumbled.

"Why was I summoned?"

"Stop speaking like we hired you to kill dragons." Gokudera crossed his arms over his chest. "We need your help in locating this guy." He slid a photo of the shadow in the don's direction.

"Okay, firstly, you _did_ hire me once to kill a dragon." The man began, making all the guardians blink. "Second, how am I supposed to find a black spot?"

"What are you talking about, look closer," Ryohei pointed to the photo, "this is the guy."

"Oh~" Byakuran hummed, his purple eyes scanning the photo with newfound curiosity. "I've seen him before."

Following his statement, the temperature in the room dropped down like a bullet train. All the eyes in the room were suddenly trained on an unsuspecting Byakuran Gesso. The man looked almost scared.

"Wha- "

"Who is he? How do we find hi- And why does he hide his ide- _No scratch that_ \- How does he disappear?!" The questions flew out so fast that Gokudera could only choke them out without any sense.

"No, no, this guy is pretty strong." Byakuran waved his hand a little bit, his eyes still gazing at the photograph.

"How do we find him?" Hibari repeated the bomber's earlier question.

This time, the white haired man did look up, his violet gaze locking with a steel grey one.

"Why do you want to find him so much?"

Yamamoto looked at his friends uncertainly, before his amber gaze slid to the photo, his finger pointing at the black form.

"You probably know this but," he began, "This guy killed Tsuna and took the Vongola Ring."

The silence did not last long. "Mhmm," Byakuran agreed leaning back in his chair, "I knew that, Yamamoto Takeshi. But I had to ask because this guy," Violet gaze slid back down to the paper, "has a very interesting ability. I can only tell you that the Vongola Ring is not here anymore."

The man stood up, his hands going in his pockets. He looked over the room once, before continuing.

"You've gotta search for it in the past."

* * *

Kyoko inhaled and exhaled, trying to calm down. She wished her driver would press that acceleration pedal already. She would have driven herself, but speeding through the streets of Palermo in her state was not indicated.

The young woman was on her way back to the manor, after meeting with her contact.

 _'That shadow man is special.'_

He had said, taking out different photos, each displaying a dark shadow in different angles.

 _'He allies himself with destruction. And eliminates order.'_

Her fists clenched as she looked out at the passing sights. She said she wanted to find him.

 _'You cannot. That is his power.'_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _'But that is his weakness as well. The Vongola famiglia has that power, too. You have to trust Decimo.'_

Oh, she trusted Tsuna- kun. Always. She had never doubted his actions until now. The question 'Why did he let his guard down?' still rang through her head. But now his reasons were clear, like the blue sky above her head today.

 _'The Vongola Ring is in the past.'_

Her shock was nothing compared to the desperation she felt when she realized she did not have a way to go back. But then, she remembered the three legendary Vongola mechanics and their amazing technology, and all her worries went down the drain immediately. She had burst out of the coffee shop, almost twisting her ankle in the process. Kyoko frowned, a determined expression on her heart-shaped face, her eyes a smoldering gold.

 _'Two Vongola Rings cannot exist at the same time. The Trinisette will be unbalanced._ _ **Hurry**_ _.'_

* * *

Judging by everything he had been through in his life, one would say that Yamamoto Takeshi shouldn't have been surprised that the ring was in the past- or that they had to go there. But surprises like these had not come for a long time, so he was naturally unnerved by this new revelation.

And looking around the room, his friends were as well. Byakuran looked pretty amused, and the swordsman supposed they were a pretty rare sight to look at.

"How do we even get there?" Lambo looked _very_ confused. The conversation had descended rapidly from the random guy to time travel.

"You shouldn't ask me that." Byakuran shrugged. "The answer is right under your nose. One could consider this a test for the Vongola's mechanics as well."

A dawning revelation broke across Gokudera's face. Hibari lifted himself from the wall and immediately started towards the Engineering Quarters. Mukuro smirked as he and Chrome were enveloped by mist, disappearing from view. Ryohei followed the skylark quickly, Lambo and Gokudera just a step behind him.

Yamamoto made to follow but halted, remembering a curious thought from earlier. He turned back towards the white haired man.

"How do you know the guy?"

"Hmm," the man hummed, his eyes closed and a tight smile on his lips. "That is a long story. I will tell you when you come back, if you'll still have questions then."

His cryptic answer did not help the swordsman in the least, but his friends have already disappeared from view, and knowing Gokudera, he'll be left behind here.

"You better run, Rain guardian." Byakuran laughed, his eyes half opened.

" _Time waits for no one_."

* * *

Irie Shoichi looked at the flat screen in his lab and frowned. He had been in the process of analysing the new samples some Vongola underling had collected, when a warning sprung up on his desktop.

Technically, the warning was legit, but it was impossible. Or so he thought. The bright, red and black message clearly stated that the Trinisette was unbalanced.

 _'But how?!'_

No, scratch that. He did not even know how to begin to grasp what could have happened for this message to appear.

Years ago, he had discussed with Tsunayoshi, and both men agreed that implementing a detection system for such things was a good idea. It would, at least, tell them that something was wrong somewhere. In the last months, the scientist had worked on improving the program, upgrading it to search and point out the last location the Ring was seen in. The Arcobaleno jars were out of the question. They were in Bermuda's care and he knew that the Vindice will protect them no matter what.

The Mare Ring was also safe and locked inside Vongola's best safe, and would not leave for a long time.

That left the Vongola Ring. The ginger head looked again at the screen and froze. Now the signal was dead completely.

 _'The Vongola Ring has disappeared?!'_

But how could it vanish like that. It was unnatural!

He made to call Tsunayoshi, but the device would not connect. _'What is happening?!'_

Suddenly the door to his lab opened and he jumped, looking back at the intruders with wide frightened eyes.

Spanner entered and blinked, surprised at his friend's behavior. Behind him, Gokudera yelled Shoichi's name and stepped aside to face the mechanic.

Listening to the right hand man's ramble, the blonde was slowly becoming more and more confused.

"The Ring... shadow... guy?" He spoke slowly, testing the words. Next to him, Lambo shook his head.

"It's such a long story, I don't remember the beginning."

A blonde eyebrow shot up, before his gaze settled on a desperate Shoichi, shouting at Gokudera, the silver haired man shouting right back, their volume increasing with each word.

"The Ring just disappeared from my radar!"

"What! So the shadow guy did not transport it directly?!"

The bomber looked almost hopeful, but Shoichi destroyed his moment. The ginger haired man ran back to his computer, typing rapidly.

"No, he did. There is a bug in the system."

"Settera..." Yamamoto's frown was unnerving.

"Probably." The mechanic agreed absently.

"Look, Shoichi, we need you guys to send us in the past." Gokudera slapped a hand near his keyboard.

Both men paused, asking themselves if they understood correctly.

"Bu- but a trip to the past would cost so much energy!" Shoichi protested, looking horrified.

"How can you be concerned for the energy bill right now, _to the extreme!_ "

The Sun guardian exclaimed.

"It's not that." Spanner placed a lollipop in his mouth. "Are you sure the Ring is really there?"

"Kufufu, the Gesso bastard told us the shadow has the power to travel to the past. So we only assumed the worst." Mukuro's eyes glinted under the neon lights.

"Before I even ask how you managed to drag this guy," Spanner drawled, pointing at the Mist guardian with his lollipop, "and that guy," This time he pointed to Hibari, who glared, "I am going to tell you that we can make it happen," The red lollipop paused mid-air, looking like a wand that should have blocked the furious barrage of demands from the guardians, if Spanner would have been a wizard. Too bad for him that he is not. "But we won't be able to bring you back."

"What." The word was not even a question by this point.

"The past does not have that machine," The blonde pointed to the white circle, "so we obviously cannot bring you back. But if the Vongola Ring is really there, then there should be no problem with the return trip."

"What does that mean?" Chrome's soft voice rang through the silent lab.

"If the Trinisette is really unbalanced, and the Ring is in the past, then nature would try to rebalance the order of things, even if it means teleporting the ring from the past back to the future. In that moment, you all should be near it to be transported as well."

"But why doesn't it teleport now?" Lambo asked, looking intrigued.

"Probably because the shadow guy, most likely, is forcing it to remain there." Shoichi explained, typing furiously. "But if you defeat the guy, then I suppose there is no problem."

"You suppose..." Mukuro raised his eyebrows.

Spanner shrugged. "We're not sure either."

Feeling an incoming headache, Ryohei decided to stop asking questions and "LET'S EXTREMELY GO!"

"You heard the man." Gokudera smirked.

Yamamoto grinned at his _senpai_ , an arm coming to rest on a pouting Lambo's head. "C'mon kid. We're going on an adventure!"

"The fuck? I'm not twelve you know!"

"You'll wish you'd be if I hear another answer like that." Gokudera glared, at the teen.

Mukuro's smile screamed an underplot, while Chrome's was small but sweet. Hibari only closed his eyes, looking content with the situation.

Shoichi and Spanner blinked, but began the preparations nonetheless.

"Ok~ five minutes everyone."

* * *

Kyoko cursed for the thounsandth time her choice in shoes. Her black high heels did nothing but hinder her and they were not even that comfortable.

'Only a little more.'

The auburn woman was two halls and a door away from her destination when the soft click of a handgun made her freeze. Her head turned around slowly to gaze at Reborn, leaning on the wall and holding a transformed Leon in his hand.

"Reborn- san wha-"

"I have a mission for you, Kyoko." The child rotated Leon in his hand absently.

The woman shook her head, golden brown locks lashing at the air.

"I can't, I'm sorry." She said quickly, her eyes longing to go. Unfortunately for her, Reborn was not there to be refused.

"It will also help Tsuna. You will be of no help in the past." His student opened her mouth to protest, but Reborn did not stutter. "Let the guardians take care of taking the ring back. They have the other rings after all."

Snapping her mouth shut, Kyoko considered this. Her teacher was right, but that did not mean anything right now.

"If I don't go, then all the training I've done would be for nothing. That was the purpose! To help Tsuna- kun and the others."

"Nonsense, your training was for your own self. Stop acting like Tsuna, only a block head like him can think like that in a world like ours."

A tense silence descended. Kyoko could only stare at the black haired boy. She was furious and shocked, but she realized it will not help her. Time was almost up.

A sudden earthquake reminded her that things were still moving, and moving fast.

The earthquake stopped as fast as it came, leaving in its wake only her shattered hopes.

"All right. What's the mission?" Caramel eyes gazed into his pitch black ones and he smirked.

"Something even more important than the ring."

* * *

 **a/n: tadaa I was faster this time (lifegoal achieved) xD**

 **I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! I hope to have the next chapter up by tonight .-.**

 **Any grammar or spelling errors you spot, please inform so I can correct them**

 **Reviews and feedback are appreciated! ^^**


	4. Target 4

Warm hazel eyes cracked open to gaze at an illuminated street. Looking around quickly, Yamamoto realized Spanner and Shoichi have done it again.

They were in the past.

Surprisingly, it did not bring such sense of nostalgia in him, yet.

All of them seemed to have landed- or rather, have been teleported- on their feet.

"Where do we go now?" Lambo asked as he scratched his head.

Everyone froze. Apparently, they haven't thought about that yet.

"I smell a fight nearby." Hibari said, starting towards a dark building in the distance.

Yamamoto's ears caught some metal sounds and he frowned. There were a few situations where they had to fight in the past, but the problem was _when_ were they.

Gokudera sighed. "Let's just follow the guy until we figure out what to do."

Mukuro chuckled. "Kufufu, count me out of your bonding time. I will be looking around."

"I am responsible for all your asses, so don't go too far Mukuro." Gokudera scowled, walking away.

"Oya, oya, when did I start needing a babysitter?" The guardian asked as Mist enveloped him almost completely. The last thing he heard was a _"When did you stop?"_ before disappearing from their sight. On that day, Mukuro added Gokudera Hayato to the ever-growing list of people he had to torture and kill.

* * *

"Hoo, is there some concert or something tonight?" Lambo asked, lush green eyes glinting in the moonlight.

"We don't have time for that, Lambo- kun." Chrome placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling him to let it go.

The teen sniffed but complied nonetheless.

"The sounds are coming from there." Yamamoto mumbled, straining to hear more than just metal on metal.

There was a sudden sound of glass breaking, making them all jump.

Hibari doubled his speed, his hands itching to grab those tonfas. Arriving at the high wall surrounding the building, he stopped suddenly, gaze never wavering from whatever was in front of him.

"What is it, cloud man?" Chrome walked closer to get a good look only for her face to contort in surprise.

"This is my school." The skylark's tone was deadpan with an undertone of malice. How dare they attack Namimori?

The rest of the guardians finally managed to catch up when another sound of breaking glass was heard. The disciplinarian did not wait to be told twice, he made to jump at his prey but the other three men held him down.

"Somebody stop the guy before he destroys everything." Gokudera said through gritted teeth, struggling with the prefect.

" _Extremely_ calm down Hibari!" Ryohei half whispered. After so many years, he managed to speak at least half the sentence quietly.

The Cloud guardian growled, still struggling.

Lambo sighed, already used to their antics. He made to step aside and see for himself the commotion, but a sound like laughter stopped him in his tracks. It was coming from behind them.

Eyeing the bushes with a raised eyebrow, Lambo stepped slowly closer. He was just about to tell the others what he heard when everything went in slow motion. First, a black form exploded from the bush, lunging for him, but a hand on his shoulder threw him backwards. The black form deviated from its course, jumping above them and behind the fence of the school.

When time finally returned to its normal flow, Lambo did not know what to think. Hibari was already gone, Ryohei close on his heels. Gokudera swore, starting after them, with Yamamoto just a step behind. Chrome held the teen gently, remaining behind with him.

"Wh- what happened?" He asked when his brain finally made the right connections.

"Let's go, Lambo- kun."

The Mist's guardian voice broke through his haze and he managed to regain his wits long enough to shake his head and stand up quickly, dusting his white pants. He nodded and the pair made to follow when another- or the same- shadow attacked again. Fortunately, Chrome hit it with and advanced illusion before it could get close to them. _Unfortunately_ , the shadow man only shook his head as if to clear his head a little- which was partially legit- and jumped into the bushes again.

Before Lambo could launch another barrage of questions, Chrome pulled him by his cow printed shirt and they ran.

* * *

Hibari could see only red in front of his eyes. And this time he had pretty obvious reasons for his fury.

First, they dare stay on school grounds after hours. Then, they dare trespass. Then, _they_ dare fight on school grounds and even more, attack ex- Namimori students.

For once, the black haired man believed he had every right to bite some shadow carnivores to death.

His destination was the illuminated- whatever it was at the front of the school. He did not remember something like this happening, so he concluded it was done without his consent.

Whatever was going on, Hibari Kyoya would make sure those herbivores will learn their lesson.

Turning a corner, he was momentarily blinded by the bright beam of light streaming from seemingly everywhere. Steel grey eyes narrowed in hope of blocking most of the light. When his vision finally cleared a little, the prefect could discern a small fenced boxing ring. It looked like the light came from there.

The sight gave a small thug at his memory, but the man shoved it away. He did not have time for stupid memories right now.

From the corner of his eyes he spotted a black form walking among the blinding white. Moving with an agility that would put mostly anyone to shame, the Cloud guardian made to attack the herbivore, but a screech from behind the ring distracted him enough to falter a bit in his steps.

"Hiiiieeee! Onii- san, are you alright?"

The voice was unmistakable and the ear splitting sound was the real deal.

Scowling for allowing himself to be distracted by dead and buried omnivores, Hibari launched himself full speed towards his prey, striking to kill.

A large explosion shook the ground as tonfa collided with the pavement. The shadow evaded at the last second, jumping to the other side of the ring. The disciplinarian did not wait to be told twice, jumping after him immediately. Hibari smirked seeing his opponent in sight. He had nowhere to run.

"Trespassing herbivores will be bitten to death."

Another explosion threw dust and dirt everywhere. Hibari's hand clenched, caging his tonfas in a death grip. Now he was angry. The goddamn shadow was evading his attacks!

Scowling darkly, he took slow, deliberate steps towards the black form. It looked like it was _waiting._

Before he could attack again and kill the bastard once and for all, he felt an ill intent directed at him.

A dark eyebrow raised in surprise at this, turning around just in time to par a pair of steel tonfas with his own. The owner released a growl, and Hibari saw him for the first time.

It was a familiar, but far away memory. His younger self stared at him with all the hatred he could muster.

Grey eyes locked on grey. Their staring contest would have lasted longer if not for the obnoxious yell.

"HIEEE, HIBARI- SAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Both Hibaris cringed at the same time, their expressions displaying various states of anger and bloodlust.

Hibari stepped back, his past self mirroring his actions.

"You..." The boy said, his tone anything but friendly.

"Hn, I don't have time to play with herbivores."

Past Hibari looked almost scandalized to be called such thing, but he did not have time to reply anymore, as the past guardians and omnivore caught up with them.

"Who is that, _to the extreme!_ " Past Ryohei exclaimed- because it was not even a question at this point.

Instead of answering, Hibari looked them over, his eyes zeroing on a certain omnivore's past self. The boy gulped, a shiver crawling down his spine.

"When will you stop being a dead weight," Steel eyes glinted with an edge as sharp as a blade, "Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

The future mafia boss shivered, taking a step back, his eyes wide in fear and confusion. Reborn frowned from his position on Yamamoto's shoulder, but before he could ask anything, a shotgun went off.

Black locks of hair whipped the air as he turned his head. Expectedly, the shadow he had been tailing was still there, standing and unmoving, waiting.

 _That meant..._

"Goddamn them and their fucking rabbit legs!" Gokudera yelled, throwing his gun down to the ground, useless. His gaze found the bastard he was looking for and scowled. Oh, he would make the guy wish he stayed home.

He closed the distance between them in three long strides, his fist grabbing the man's purple shirt.

"The hell you don't understand with the phrase 'I'm responsible for your asses' you goddamn skylark?!"

The bloody idiot had never liked team spirit, but neither did Gokudera. He would have been so much more content with not having to interact with any of them. It has always been a hassle. But that changed in time, to a light form of irritation. Unfortunately, in situations like this, he cursed the Vongola tradition of having more than one damn guardian.

The man's eyes did not display any emotion other than indifference and he tched. They did not have time for this.

Letting him go, he scanned the place only to blink when he saw who was standing just a few meters away.

"Tenth."

The boy blinked back, his voice shaky."G- gokudera- kun...?"

Before he could answer, his past self mirrored his earlier actions, grabbing the front of his red shirt.

"Oi, you, do I become the best right hand man in the future?"

The silver haired man had expected this question. Somehow, it brought a pang in his chest, and the young boss in front of him looking up with those innocent eyes did not help either. The man knew his straight forward nature, and he knew that even if he lied, he would still feel bad.

"Fuck if I know, find out yourself."

With that said, he unclenched the offending limb and stepped away, smoothing his clothing, before surveying the situation.

"Oho, what do we have here?" A joyful voice sounded from behind. "This brings back some memories, ne, Onii-san?"

" _Extreme_ memories indeed!" Ryohei grinned, walking besides Yamamoto. The swordsman had his katana slung casually on his shoulders, while the boxer had his arms crossed.

"Ahaha, this is pretty cool!" Past Yamamoto laughed, putting his arms behind his head.

"EXTREME!" Past Ryohei yelled, throwing a fist up in the air.

"Storm man, there are eight in total." Chrome appeared next to him, successfully scaring an unsuspecting Tsuna.

"Wh- who are you!" The brunette's caramel eyes darted from Gokudera to the strange eye-patch girl in silent question.

"You will find out soon, boss." The illusionist said, turning back towards her companions.

The bomber nodded, "Did you see anything else, stupid cow?"

Lambo scratched his head. "Nah."

Tsuna gaped. "Adult Lambo!"

The teen saluted in his usual way. "Hello there, young Vongola. Please don't mind us, we are just doing an errand."

"In the _past_?" Reborn's high pitched voice asked, an undertone of distrust lacing it.

The Lightning guardian faltered but nodded nonetheless, his mouth pressed in a tight line.

Gokudera looked around, counting each shadow, one more time before he nodded to himself.

"I expect some goddamn info from your wanderings." He spoke seemingly to the air, but he got his answer.

A purple mist appeared around them, making everyone from the past flinch and tense, getting into attack positions. They knew who was coming, and it was not good.

"Kufufu, I suppose I have to repay the kindness." Mukuro appeared, tapping his trident on the ground as his mismatched eyes looked with amusement at their past selves.

"Some party you got here." The man whistled, smirking when both Hibari and Gokudera glared at him.

"How many idiots do we have to deal with here?" The right hand man asked, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Hmm, I say seven or eight." Yamamoto smiled, looking at Mukuro expectantly.

The illusionist sniffed cursing the luck the Rain guardian seemed to swim in.

Flipping his hair back, he said."Eight."

"Then we are even." Ryohei grinned, already up for a fight.

"You herbivores will do nothing. I will bite them to death for breaking the rules."

* * *

" **Yes, please do that Hibari Kyoya.** " One of the shadows spoke, its voice echoing on the buildings around them like an otherworldly message. " **There is nothing interesting to do around here.** " It took a step forward into the light. " **I hope you will be able to provide at least** _ **some**_ **fun in this boring dimension.** "

The black form was fully illuminated now, but it was just that, the black form of a man. One of its arms lifted, grasping the mask covering its face and pulled it away.

The sight that greeted them made most of the people gathered in the school courtyard gasp. Hibari's eyes narrowed, glaring hatefully at the man in front of his eyes. Mukuro took out his trident, fully intending to fulfill his promise. Reborn's eyes narrowed, his attention focused precisely on the man. The Varia and Cervello watched the events unfold with an air of curiosity and confusion. Unfortunately for them, the worst was yet to reveal itself.

The shadow's dull brown caramel eyes glinted in the artificial light, a sharp edge that could signal nothing good. His black cape unraveled from around him, like a blossoming flower, displaying his crisp clean black suit and white shirt. Long chocolate locks shadowed his forehead and eyes.

"T- tenth?" Gokudera asked cautiously. At the end of the day, he could curse himself however much for stuttering in front of his boss, but right now he was confused and most of all, scared. Those eyes were not his boss's.

"Hmm," The man intoned, his mouth twisting into a sadistic smirk, "I suppose I am."

"Kufufu, you are not him." Mukuro raised his trident, pointing it at the fake. " _He_ is dead."

"Yes, he is." Fake Tsuna said it with so much gusto that it nearly made Mukuro shrink back. His wide eyes carried a new dangerous light. "His unwavering gaze and boldness as he looked into the barrel of my gun were so _delicious_." The fake Tsuna almost licked his lips.

Lambo chocked, unable to comprehend what the guy was saying. He looked exactly like his older brother, yet he carried an aura exactly opposite of Tsuna's. And that scared him the most.

Hibari lifted his tonfas, preparing to attack. "Who are you?"

Steel grey eyes narrowed as the man in front of him smiled a humorless smile. "I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, of course. Have you already forgotten me?"

"Faking someone's identity is against the rules in Namimori. You will be bitten to death." Hibari stepped forward, fully intending on ending the guy, when he burst out laughing.

"Are you sure you lot are not just fucking scared shitless because I look like that wimpy bastard?" The fake's smile slowly morphed into a smirk. "The dead live as long as their name is remembered."

A sudden rush of wind and the glinting steel of a tonfa was all the warning he got before Hibari slammed his weapons in his stomach, sending him flying into the school wall.

Gokudera stepped forward as well, a new gun pointed at his head. "Where is the ring?"

The fake's happy face and behavior were such contrast, that it made the bomber want to throw up. How dare he display his boss's expressions on his twisted persona.

"What ring?"

Gokudera pulled off the safety. " _The Vongola Ring_ that you bastard stole."

"Ah." Fake Tsuna's mouth twitched. Gokudera knew from years of experience that he was trying not to smile.

"You have to find out."

Before the bomber could question him further- or at least pull the trigger- another shadow slammed into him, sending him flying into Hibari and onto the ground. The prefect growled, getting up and attacking the new enemy, but the shadow evaded, removing its mask.

Some people from the back gasped once more when _his face_ came into view.

Gokudera Hayato scowled darkly, glaring at the sitting brunette. The fake boss glowered back, moving to stand.

"I told you-"

"Fuck you and your orders." The silver haired fake spat, his eyes finding his double. "I'm gonna smash the shit out of them and then you are next." He pulled out a gun from his suit jacket aiming straight at his other self.

Fake Tsuna's glare could not be more deadly. "You dare defy me?" His voice was colder than ice. The question sounded more like a warning than a demand.

"Hell if I care. I'm sick of holding your train. You bastards are on your own, too." He threw a look over his shoulder.

As if awaiting this signal, the other shadows moved as one, each one jumping to face a guardian.

Yamamoto pushed past Tsuna and the others back safely, gesturing them to keep the distance. When he turned back, his warm hazel eyes met blank light brown. The Rain guardian blinked a few times, not quite coming to terms with the fact that he was currently facing his other self. He looked exactly the same, but the expression on his face was indifferent and his eyes displayed nothing but emptiness. All in all, he did not look too friendly.

Fake Yamamoto lifted his sword, the grey steel glinting under the light, and suddenly his eyes filled with a light that the guardian had only seen in his craziest targets. Blaring alarms sounded in his head and he brought his own sword up just in time to par his opponent.

The sudden clash surprised Ryohei and he glanced back to see Yamamoto with another Yamamoto locked in battle. He raised an eyebrow, _extremely_ confused. First, a strange Sawada appeared, now a Yamamoto. Unfortunately, he did not have time to ask, as he felt a dangerous presence attacking him. He moved his head to the right just in time to avoid a dangerous fist. Looking back, he started when he locked eyes with... himself. The guy's eyes were blazing with unrestricted fury and his face was contorted in rage.

"Why are you so _extremely_ mad?" He could not help the question that spilled from his mouth. His other self seemed to become even more enraged.

Fake Ryohei drew back, preparing another attack, as he answered. "Because you are _extremely_ alive. I WILL MAKE SURE TO TAKE CARE OF THAT." He roared before he attacked, sending Ryohei flying away.

Lambo jumped and dived in time to not be squashed by the Sun guardian. He was so scared, he could barely move. He would have given everything to go home at that moment. Too bad luck was not on his side.

Standing up, he came face to face with a smirking teen. The other Lambo cracked his knuckles, looking eager to fight.

"I am going to slam you into the ground so hard you're not gonna need a dug grave." The fake took out his horns, placing them at the sides of his head.

Lambo's eye twitched. Did the guy just threaten him or he was just messing him? Either way, the bastard was going down.

"The fuck did you just say to me?" The teen could care less about the idiot right hand man and his warnings. The first step to intimidating your enemies was to talk big. And that, Lambo could do very good. Mirroring the fake's earlier actions, he placed his horns on both sides of his head. Emerald eyes narrowed on his still smirking enemy.

"I'm going to level you!" Fake Lambo laughed maniacally, lightning erupting from the horns.

Lambo begged to defy. "Only when you'll get on my level." He stepped forward, green lightning enveloping him from all sides.

* * *

"Lambo- kun..." Chrome frowned softly watching the boy get too fired up. She was concerned he was going to get hurt and she did not like it. She should help him. Moving to do just that, the girl jumped back when she saw a person close to her face, staring.

Amethyst eye locked on its twin and the girl realized with desperation that she was staring at her own self. The girl did not look different from her, and her eye was displaying a curious light, but not for long.

Suddenly, her double narrowed her eye and scrunched her nose.

"Ew, what hideous bitch you are."

Chrome swallowed her earlier assessment. This was certainly not what she expected.

"Oh well, no trouble. I will make sure to skewer you good. I haven't had a good fight in years. Don't worry, I will not torture you for long." The fake spoke seriously, sliding the tips of her fingers along her trident's surface.

Swallowing back her acrid response and some vomit from the horrible personality-double or not- Chrome summoned her trident as well, letting her mafiosa side take over for once.

"I will remember your demands when you beg for mercy." She answered, summoning her best gruesome illusions.

Mukuro's mouth almost dropped, _almost_. His precious Chrome was not only answering back, but she was even threatening her enemy. That was such rare sight, the illusionist thought he had imagined it.

Looking back, his eyes found his other self. The man was simply looking at him curiously, studying. What?

Mukuro did not want to know. Mismatched eyes narrowed.

"Well, aren't you going to attack me?" For him to urge his enemy to attack him first, it was almost ironic, _**almost**_.

His double blinked at actually being addressed and shrugged, arranging his hair nonchalantly. "No, I don't like to dirty my hands with fighting you. If you would just drop dead, it would be great."

Mukuro's eyebrow shot up in surprise.

"Of course, it would be a great pleasure to torture you. I've always wanted to hear myself scream in agony." Fake Mukuro licked his lips, his eyes displaying every bit of the crazy man he really was.

Mukuro almost vomited, _**almost**_. To hell with him and his crazy fucking personality. He would admit even out loud, that he was not _that_ twisted. And after today, he is sure he will never be.

"You just gave me maladies, please don't open your mouth again. _Die_."

Illusion clashed with illusion, as he jumped at his double, the tridents clashing loudly.

Hibari Kyoya tried his best to ignore the pineapple headed herbivore fighting his idiot self behind him, and occupied himself with anticipating his next fight. Surely his other self must be powerful. He could not wait to see what was in store for him.

Fake Hibari did not look any different. His grey eyes were indifferent and his face devoid of any emotion.

Hibari lifted his tonfas, clearly preparing for a fight, but he blinked when he saw his other self do nothing but stare at him.

Raising an eyebrow, he attacked anyway- because why the hell not. The other Hibari avoided him, but did not make any move to counter attack. Trying this another few times, the prefect growled.

"Fight me herbivore."

Yes, now the guy would fight. Hibari knew best his own weaknesses, and he knew that the word fight was the magic word, while the word herbivore clearly meant a demand from the other person to die.

Fake Hibari remained impassive, however. "I am not going to." He crossed his arms, "I don't like to fight."

In that moment, it was clear that this could not be any person even remotely related to him. Hibari could not even look at the bastard anymore. His eyes searched for something to smash, _immediately_.

"You weak ass herbivore stay here and rot. I am going to fight with that carnivore." He made to leave, but his fake's voice stopped him.

"Did you just say that _he_ is more powerful than me?"

A black eyebrow shot up. Oho, he pressed the right button. "Yes, obviously. You can see it with the naked eye."

Fake Hibari scowled. "How dare you compare me with that _monstrosity_. You will regret it."

Another eyebrow shot up at the stressed word, but he decided to throw his questions to the wind. He got his wish and he will make the best of it.

* * *

Gokudera cursed, eyeing the guy in front of him. The man seemed pretty serious in fighting him to death. Unfortunately, the bomber could not afford to lose here. From the corner of his eye he saw the others fighting with their clones as well. The man could not even begin to ask who or what were they.

These fakes looked too good to be just that, but their personalities were so contrasting with theirs, that it was almost ironic.

"I don't have time for this. Where did you hide the ring?!"

Emerald eyes glared at his boss's fake. The man did not move a muscle, looking back at him with an empty gaze. Suddenly, his mouth twisted into a smirk, his right arm lifting from under the cloak to reveal a hand adorned with the Vongola Ring.

"Right here." The man's eyes glinted, inviting them to come closer.

Yamamoto made to step around his clone, but the fake did not waste any time in attacking again, effectively blocking him from making any moves.

"Tch." The right hand man scowled. His fingers itched to activate his Vongola Gear, but held himself back. Something tugged at his brain, invoking a long lost memory.

 _"But Tenth, why?" A younger Gokudera Hayato almost demanded, staring questioningly at his boss._

 _The brunette man shifted, his regal posture never wavering, caramel eyes gazing in sadness at the scattered corpses around them. The other guardians gathered as well, most of them staring in confusion at their boss._

 _"Kufufu, Sawada Tsunayoshi, are you chickening out now? The mission was to eliminate this famiglia. It's too late to be sorry for them." Mukuro frowned when the brunette did not offer any answer. He kept staring in the distance, his mind elsewhere._

 _"Tsuna..." Yamamoto began uncertainly._

 _"Did you have to slaughter them all like this?" The small voice was so soft, it would have been lost in the wind if one would not be paying attention._

 _"N- no, but wasn't this what we were ordered to do, Sawada?" Even the ever sunny guardian was feeling uncertain now._

 _Their boss's behavior now contrasted greatly with what they expected. Before the mission began, Tsuna's resolute eyes told them to complete it without fail. They had to. Reborn and the others would not tolerate any failure, and that was very clear. But now, their boss was simply staring at the ground again, his sad eyes making Lambo almost cry._

 _He could not see Dame- Tsuna like that. It was their fault, it seemed. The brunette had been adamant in not letting the teen participate, but Reborn did not want to hear any word of argument, so Tsuna had had a long discussion with the younger boy, preparing him for what was about to happen and asking him to keep as much distance as he could._

 _Even through all this, Tsuna knew that everything was Reborn's making. The hitman's intentions were clear: kill or be killed. And despite his brother's protests, Lambo had to defend himself from the guy who attacked him._

 _"We had executed the baby's mission perfectly. What more do you want from us herbivore?"_

 _Even Hibari was getting impatient now. His bloody hands twitched, wanting to grab his tonfas and kick the mouse's ass._

 _"No, you did nothing wrong." His voice was surprisingly steady for the grave expression on his face. Caramel eyes regarded them with an understanding softness that was not supposed to be offered to killers. His smile was sad, yet comforting._

 _"Can I..." he began quietly, unsure, "Ask you all something?"_

 _Most of the guardians blinked but nodded. Anything he wanted._

 _"I don't want you to use the Vongola Gear from now on."_

 _The statement brought a fresh wave of confusion upon them._

 _"Tsuna, is everything ok-" Yamamoto was already alarmed._

 _"Yes, it's fine." The brunette laughed, though his eyes were still sad. "I just don't want to use the Vongola Gear for such thing. It is supposed to bring the Vongola into a new era, not continue the violence."_

 _Hibari and Mukuro's eyebrows rose in question, but before anyone could say anything else on the matter, Tsuna was already waving them off._

 _"Ju- just don't use them until I give you permission. You can treat it as training too. Fighting with Vongola Gear is too easy, right?" His small chuckle was devoid of any amusement._

 _Not having any other choice, they conceded back then._

The bomber scowled, trying to come up with a new strategy. He knew that it was stupid, this situation was going from bad to very bad, and his boss was not with them anymore. In light of all this, using the Gear should be the obvious thing. But he could not, and as he looked at the others, they seemed to think the same. It always amazed the bomber how his boss managed to retain control on the sly illusionist and the bastard prefect. Those two were the biggest weak links in their family, in his opinion. Not that they would betray them or something like this, but you can never be sure if they are going to come, or help, so he was obviously surprised when they really showed up. Only Tsuna had managed this in the past. Thankfully, they still had some neurons to realize the situation was bad enough to require their presence.

Risking another look behind, he saw Yamamoto trying to lose his clone and lunge for the ring; Ryohei and Chrome were locked in fists and trident fights, the two Lambos were the only pair that was already fighting with flames- if one went by the amount of explosions produced. Gokudera sighed in relief seeing Mukuro and Hibari looking like they enjoyed their fights. At least something good came out of this situation. He could use this against them later.

Ignoring his throbbing head that was swarming with unanswered questions, he tried to push them away for safe storage so he could concentrate on the guy in front of him.

His fake's glare was so heated, that he could almost feel the scorch. Huffing, his fingers closed around the trigger of the revolver from his belt.

What best way to start your evening, if not with a good old mafia brawl.

* * *

 **a/n: dun dun dunnn (jk)... who didn't see a cliche flashback coming there?**

 **As promised I have the chapter up by tonight xD (looking at you Aky hehe o3o )**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chappie tomorrow**

 **A huge thank you to** **Tatanka, I hope you continue to enjoy my story :D**

 **Any grammar or spelling mistakes you spot pls tell me so I correct them**

 **Reviews and feedback are appreciated~!^^**


	5. Target 5

Sasagawa Kyoko inhaled, trying to calm her nerves. Her golden eyes looked out the window again, trying to lose herself in the landscape. She was currently on her way to her target.

After meeting Reborn, she had walked out with more questions than answers, but the hitman had assured her that she would get all her answers soon.

 _Her mission_ , Reborn had insisted, was to assassinate Don Rittoro of the Settera famiglia. Her shock only lasted short, her feelings of revenge and repayment exploding from deep underneath. She accepted without hesitation. The bastard would pay for everything he had done. Her resolve was already set in stone by the time she climbed into the sleek black Mercedes and drove off towards the man's mansion.

She had had a couple of assassinations in her past, and while she was partially still regretting it, the bastards deserved it. Reborn had always made sure to give her jobs she would not regret so much in the end.

At last, she now understood the hitman's reasons for not allowing her to leave. She was the perfect agent for this mission. Her cover was flawless, and while her relations with the Vongola famiglia were apparent on the Underworld's gossip tables, they were just that for the large public. No one knew more, she was just considered a masterless spy- a wanderer. She should not have many problems with Rittoro. The man was sly, but without that shadow's help, she was sure he was pretty much helpless. It did help that she had met him a couple of times before at random events.

While Tsuna wasn't the jealous type, he had warned her in all seriousness about the guy. She had waved him off, not seeing his point. There were nothing but good old spy techniques in there.

Her car suddenly skidded to a halt, signaling the end of her journey. Stepping out of the vehicle, she was greeted by two bulky men that were obviously some random underlings sent to greet her.

Smiling politely, she allowed them to guide her to Rittoro's office.

The mansion was big, displaying as much wealth as it was humanly possible. The wait was not long, the ornate doors swinging open to reveal yet another luxurious room. The spacious place did not give the woman any sense of comfort in that moment, rather she was feeling more out of air here.

Shaking her head, Kyoko steeled herself, for she would not allow herself to fail. Rittoro was smiling back at her warmly, gesturing to take a seat on the comfy armchair. After she was seated and coffee was brought, the doors closed once again, leaving the two in an amiable, if a little tense, silence.

* * *

"What brings you here, _Signora_ Kyoko?" The black haired man asked politely, his fingers crossed, supporting his chin. He was quite surprised the woman had come to him personally. She had always been a though mouse to catch. Fleetingly, the don reminded himself to watch himself. Her past with the Vongola was enough reason.

"Ah, I was just doing my errands when I've heard the most _juiciest_ gossip."

Her honey eyes twinkled with unsuppressed playfulness. She looked like a kid on Christmas Day. "About the Decimo being dead... is it true?"

Rittoro blinked. Surely he did not expect her to be so open about this subject. He had always thought that the Vongola Decimo had her under his thumb, but it seemed she played him well.

Releasing an acrid smile, he answered. "Yes, your information may be very well true." An idea was slowly forming in his head and he liked it very much. If he could make her his, then he would have one more powerful weapon to reign with.

"I am sorry if I assume wrong, but I suppose I should offer you condolences for the loss of your boss...?" His green eyes looked at her intently.

Kyoko giggled, "Ah, no. Such thing does not affect me." Her eyes narrowed, and she leaned in, mirroring his position. "It was just a way for me to waste time."

Rittoro concluded that he liked that smile. Not the polite one, but the unmerciful one. Never before had he seen a mafiosa with her head on her shoulders like this. Granted, the number of women in the mafia, while it was steadily growing, was still very small, so most of the women that were threatening were either crazy or simply lunatic.

"Well then I suppose you would consider my proposition."

Kyoko did not even blink, waiting for him to continue.

"Become an associate of the Settera famiglia. With our ever growing alliance and connections, a resourceful spy as yourself is more than needed. Of course, the rewards are limitless."

His eyes twinkled and Kyoko understood immediately what that _reward_ was. And she almost vomited.

'That was close.' She refrained her eye from twitching and breaking her cover.

The fair haired woman stood up from her chair, walking slowly towards the man in front of her. Her finger slid along with her on the office table, her eyes probing all the documents on it. Not many interesting things, Rittoro was not stupid. She seated herself on the arm of his black leather office chair and whispered in his ear in a seductive voice.

"Gladly."

Rittoro smirked. His plans were advancing even faster than expected. His mind went to his priceless bounty and he made his mind then and there to risk it for once.

Rittoro Settera was a man that did not like to take risks. He valued strategy and intelligence more than pure, unadulterated luck. He had learned throughout his life that luck was not on his part, so he had to rely on real deals. It had taken him almost a year to accept the Shadow's offer, but it had brought him more good than bad. He felt that luck could be finally on his side this time around.

Reaching behind his neck, he pulled the golden chain around it by the key, opening it. Lifting the chain into the air, he watched the woman's eyes go wide when her caramel gaze landed on the stolen Vongola Ring. Their surface shined in the dimming sunlight, casting a deformed shadow to fall on the table.

Kyoko looked speechless and the man did not blame her. It was not every day you see the Vongola Ring in reality and so close.

Opposite to his thoughts, Kyoko was actually trying to contain herself from jumping and killing the guy, but her efforts proved fruitful when she came across as shocked. Thanks God for this, at least.

Suddenly a small vibration from her ring informed her that everything was set and the operation could really begin. Just in time.

Swinging her body upward, she straddled him, pinning him to the chair. She noticed fleetingly the chain dropping to the table. Extracting a small knife from her thigh- carbon fiber -and swiftly cut his artery.

The woman jumped back just in time to avoid blood spilling on her. Grabbing the Ring from the table, Kyoko cast one last look at the dead man, before she closed the door.

Walking back to the front door- after dealing appropriately with the henchmen- she concluded that she did not regret it at all.

 _The guy had it coming._

* * *

Hana whistled, making her way out of the Settera famiglia territory. She smiled knowing that Kyoko had probably finished the job by now. Her best friend became a sort of a legend in the world of mafia women, and she held all kinds of admiration for her.

Of course, the young, black haired woman would not allow herself to fall behind.

* * *

Reborn smirked as he saw the auburn haired woman enter the mansion, a determined expression set on her pretty face.

"I assume the mission was a success then."

The hitman did not need further confirmation than the small glare sent his way. It seemed all his students were becoming more fearless and bolder around him. And he did not like it. At all.

"Did you know this, Reborn- san?" Her voice wavered with uncontained emotions. The woman lifted her hand, showing the dangling Vongola Ring.

"Hm, I had a nagging feeling. I sent you to verify. It was a hunch." The boy shrugged.

Kyoko frowned. "A _hunch?_ " She accentuated. "Your hunch sent the others more than ten years into the past!"

Kyoko knew she was probably screaming. At her tutor. The _demon tutor from hell_. But she did not care. He had sent Gokudera and the others without first verifying his hunches and now they were stuck there.

"How are they going to come back?!"

Reborn's beady eyes did not let anything out. "I don't know. Shoici said that two Vongola Rings cannot exist at the same time and one will have to return to our time. But now..."

The rest of the sentence did not need to be said. Kyoko bit her lip so hard it almost bled. If only she could somehow _find_ some kind of clue. Her mind reeled with this unsolvable puzzle for most of her ride back. Even now, she could not find any exits.

"Maybe the exit you are looking for is quite the opposite of freedom." The hitman said randomly, black eyes watching her intently from under the rim of his fedora.

Kyoko frowned, wanting to ask what he meant before it suddenly clicked. Her earlier talk with the guardians came forth. Bright eyes widened when the seemingly impossible answer became as clear as day.

Clutching the ring tightly, she said, "I'm going."

The woman did not wait for any sort of answer as she dashed away back, to the car.

Reborn sighed, starting after her. It seemed he always needed to take care of his stupid students.

* * *

The car ride had been silent, its three occupants not finding anything to discuss in light of past events. Their only focus now was finding the place they were looking for.

The snowstorm outside calmed down enough for the two massive, iron gates, granting access inside the mountain, came into view. Their ride stopped in front of the jagged, rock stairs covered with snow. Kyoko shivered when the cold wind hit her face, but continued on towards the gates.

As if sensing their arrival, two Vindice guards materialized, their voices as hollow as always.

" **State your business.** "

"We are here to see Vongola Decimo." The golden brown haired woman thanked the gods her voice did not waver.

The guards paused for a moment, as if surprised, but quickly regained their composure. " **Vongola Decimo is dead**."

The statement did not bring Kyoko any more pain. She knew better now.

"You have the body, you told the Storm guardian so."

The Vindice seemed to falter for a moment. " **The body is already in a locked up place. Leave.** "

Caramel eyes narrowed, Reborn smirked and Haru grinned.

Kyoko lifted her hand showing the chain. The zombies watched the ring dangle for a couple of moments, before the gates began to open behind them.

" **Follow us.** "

* * *

The prison was cold and damp, the dim light obstructing the view around you, which was both a good and a bad thing.

The various hallways were lost on Kyoko since they passed the second corner of the fourth hallway to the right of the left side of the prison. The large expanses had wooden floors that creaked more than not, and the atmosphere was either damp, silent and creepy or damp, loud with screams of agony and horrifying.

The wait was long, but finally, they stopped in front of an elevator door, and descended to the lower levels of the prison.

It did not take long for the Vindice to locate the place, so Kyoko's anxiety increased tenfold when the guard pressed a couple of buttons. The sound of metal scraping against metal was insufferable, but their attention was diverted elsewhere. In front of their eyes, a lone cylinder container was coming into view, its shining light making their eyes hurt.

The tube stopped its ascend at half of its height. When all movement ceased, and her eyes managed to get used enough to distinguish the form behind the light, Kyoko's breath almost stopped.

A turf of brown hair floated inside the water tube, followed by a peaceful sleeping face, bright chocolate eyes hidden from the world.

The Vindice pressed a couple of buttons, making the tube release a hiss. The water level began descending until it could not be seen anymore. A second guard moved to face them.

 **"It will be ready immediately."**

With that, he disappeared, leaving his companion to watch the trio with a critical eye. Kyoko tried to stale her nerves, but it did not help her jumbling thoughts very much. Clenching trembling fists, she looked as two guards rolled in a metal bed, the brunette laid on it.

"He looks like he's in a deep sleep..." Haru whispered from beside her. Kyoko could only pray that it was the case.

 **"Vongola Decimo,"** the Vindice began, **"has asked us to guard him."**

Three pairs of eyebrows shot up in surprise. The brunette's actions were even more confusing now. If he wanted to be guarded, then it would have been more simple to give the order.

 **"His reasons are confidential."**

"Was he shot?" Reborn's eyes glinted in the neon light.

 **"Yes."**

Kyoko's mouth pressed in a tight line. "Is he okay now?"

 **"Physically, yes."**

"What's that supposed to mean?" The hitman frowned.

The Vindice did not look too happy to talk, but Bermuda must have given the order, since the zombie opened its mouth.

 **"The Decimo has grown attached to the Ring. It happened to all generations of Trinisette holders. His consciousness has found a way to withdraw completely from the body in the event of mortal danger. This is the power of the Trinisette."**

"So you are saying that Tsuna's mind entered the Vongola Ring?" Reborn frowned, clearly not fully understanding.

 **"Yes. As you've seen, the first generation's flames are in the rings. It is the same case. When a boss dies, his flames go directly into the ring. This way, the memories of past generations are preserved and safety is fully granted."**

"But Tsuna did not die." It was Kyoko's turn to frown.

 **"That is for the famiglia to decide. We have fulfilled our part of the deal. The Vindice has kept the Tenth generation Vongola boss alive until the ring will be returned."**

"Kyoko, place the ring on Tsuna's hand." Reborn ordered, moving closer to the bed.

Kyoko followed, her hand fumbling with the right way to put the ring. Lifting his white, limp hand, the woman almost burst into tears. He did not deserve this.

 _All this shit he had endured with his head held high._

Carefully, she slid the two rings. When she was sure they were in the right places, Kyoko placed the hand back down, stepping away.

The trio waited with baited breath for the next few moments, anticipating any move from their boss. But there was none.

Kyoko almost turned back to scream at them and lose all hope, but a flash of brown-orange was all it took her to freeze in place.

Empty light brown eyes gazed at the ceiling, their owner attempting no other movement.

" **Welcome back, Vongola Decimo.** "

The booming voice of the guard was only a fading echo in Kyoko's ears. The woman's gaze did not dare stray from the mafia boss. She studied his expression for any changes but there were none. His gaze was blank. No emotion, no movement.

'Please don't let that smile be gone forever.'

" _Tsuna- kun..._ "

* * *

Dark and wet. That was his first impression of the world. The dark grey, cracked ceiling was the most confusing thing for him at the moment.

 _How did he get here? Where was he? What happened?_

His ears picked a loud echo in the distance, his brain barely registering the words.

'Vongola Decimo.' _That's me, I think..._

'Welcome back.' _Welcome back... from where?_

 _Where was I?_

Fleetingly, he remembered faces, blood, _a gun._

He was ambushed in Palazzo Vecchio. He was shot. By _him_.

 _Who is_ he _?_

He saw Rittoro meet with someone. Byakuran was telling him something important- his expression was grim and worried. He saw himself speak with the Vindice. In front of his eyes, all nine bosses materialized.

 _"Tsuna- kun..."_

His eyes widened, heart beating wildly. He saw him, he saw _his face_.

Maniacal laughter exploded in his ears and he screamed, throwing away whatever was on him. He needed to get away from there, from _him_.

"Tsuna- kun calm down!"

When did Kyoko get there? She was in danger!

Wild orange eyes looked around in search of her but stopped short when two cold hands touched his face, keeping him from moving his head.

Caramel eyes looked into his orange ones, soothing his worries.

"Tsuna- kun..." The woman began slowly, "Please calm down."

Her voice was soft yet commanding. Tsuna willed himself to calm down. His eyes searched around him as much as he could move them in her grip, but he did not find _him_.

* * *

Kyoko was worried, but at least Tsuna was responding to her. Now that he was calmed, she permitted herself to step back and inspect him more closely.

Her breath hitched when she saw his chest wrapped in bandages smeared with blood. Looks like he was not completely healed yet.

"Let's gear him up. We better return to the manor." Reborn crossed his arms, nodding in Haru's direction.

The brown haired woman nodded back, taking out some clothes from a bag.

"We don't have time for that, Reborn."

All heads in the room turned towards the brunette. He tried to sit up on the bed with Kyoko's help.

"I remember what's happening." Tsuna winced when the movement made his wound ache, but continued on anyway. "I'm going."

"Not until you explain yourself." The hitman looked furious and impatient, a dangerous combination.

The don released a tired sigh, willing the pain to lessen.

"All right, let's talk."

At the sound of his words, his three friends stepped closer, forming a circle around him. Their faces were painted with worry and eagerness for answers, or just blank, in Reborn's case.

The man opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again.

"What do you want to know?"

Haru chocked and Kyoko fixed him with an incredulous stare. Reborn's hand twitched to grab his gun and paint his student's face a nice shade of red.

"Everything."

Tsuna gulped- whether from sensing his tutor's rage- or something else.

"Let's start from the beginning then. I'm not even sure when it started. I've been at war with _him_ for such a long time..."

The brunette trailed off, his eyes glazed with memories. "I knew something happened when the Settera famiglia suddenly became so powerful. I started a small investigation on my own, but didn't manage to find much. One day, Byakuran burst into my office. Normally, that would end bad," The boss chuckled, "but the expression on his face was so grave, that I immediately asked for details. Apparently, people from a parallel world entered ours."

"Impossible." Reborn interrupted. Tsuna lifted his head to meet the boy's gaze and smiled a humorless smile.

"Byakuran said his parallel self made some device that allowed them to pass. You remember when we were in the future... We fought with that Ghost, who was Byakuran from a parallel world, but that guy was only pure energy. This people are real." Caramel eyes sharpened. "I believed him, but I still had my reservations about this. It wasn't until a party some months ago, that I accidentally passed Rittoro and a man clad in black. I knew instantly that Byakuran had been right all along."

"How?" The hitman demanded, "I've seen him too, his face was hidden."

Tsuna shook his head, "That time he did not have a mask. Thankfully, Rittoro had not seen me, but I have the feeling the Shadow did. After that, I received the alliance invitation, though the answer was clear in my head already."

"Why? Who is that Shadow man that you are so scared of, Tsuna- kun?" Kyoko furrowed her brows, trying to make sense of this.

The man's smile turned rueful. "It's _me_."

Three pairs of eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"The one that came from the parallel dimension was me. According to Byakuran, that dimension is a direct mirror to ours. I killed him there and stole the device. And if my intuition is still correct, my guardians came with me."

Tsuna paused, prompting silence to overtake them.

"Ever since then, I kept an eye on the Shadow, and Rittoro consequently. That's why I sent Onii- san on that mission in Mafia Land."

Tsuna sighed, grabbing the clothes offered by Haru, "One thing is for sure," he rasped, "they did not come here to make flower crowns. They are here to cause chaos."

"And chaos they caused." Reborn crossed his arms over his chest. "Your guardians are in the past."

It was Tsuna's turn to look incredulous, but nodded nonetheless.

"Wasn't that your message to them?" Haru asked, referring to the bloody message at the museum.

"No, it wasn't."

"What-"

"I wrote that they should protect the famiglia. What did you think it said?"

Another silence suggested that his message was not correctly understood.

"So it wasn't written in Kanji?" Kyoko asked hesitantly.

" _No_ , it was in Italian." Tsuna accentuated, his eyes dancing between them.

"Gokudera fucked up." Reborn snorted, shaking his head incredulously.

"We- well the message was pretty messed up, so I'm sure it couldn't be readable." Tsuna tried to defend his right hand man.

"Did your other self shoot you and take the Vongola Ring?"

Chocolate eyes narrowed, "Yes, but he had his own ring."

Kyoko nodded. "Your ring was with Rittoro."

"What about Maurizio then?" Haru asked, her wide, brown eyes confused. "Hayato said the Vindice told him that he was the one who killed you."

The brown haired man nodded. "He tried. It seems like my evil self was not the only one who wanted me dead. He killed Maurizio before killing me."

The two women cringed, and Reborn snorted. His student was becoming more and more popular with assassins these days.

"Then you should go clean this mess up, Dame- Tsuna."

The man nodded, starting towards the exit, but paused, turning his head to look at back at them.

"What did you think the message said?"

" _All roads lead to the past_." Kyoko recited, having been told the message in her meeting with the guardians when they arrived back from Palazzo Vecchio.

Laughter filled the room. Tsuna held his stomach, trying not to open his wounds again.

"I am not even _nearly_ that poetic."

* * *

 **a/n: tadaa, another chappie up. One left to go (probably tonight). I want to finish this story until I leave for vacation- which is tomorrow(uhuh).**

 **i hope everyone liked it! ^^**

 **any grammar or spelling mistakes you spot pls come tell me**

 **Reviews and feedback are appreciated! :D**


	6. Target 6

"Fucking bastard." Gokudera swore under his breath, moving to evade another attack from his enemy.

The fake smirked, throwing a hand grenade with dead accuracy.

Moving at the last second, the bomber saved himself from most of the flames, the force of the explosion propelling him forward.

Not far away from him, Mukuro chuckled, though it was more from irritation than amusement. His hand moved to touch his earring, but dropped. Instead he jumped in for another attack, a wave of lava behind him, but the illusion was quickly dissipated by his fake. The man mock- yawned, taunting him. Mismatched eyes narrowed. This bastard was going down.

A strange glint entered the man's eyes, but Gokudera did not have the energy to consider it anymore. His fight was drawing on longer than he had expected, the strain and fatigue were starting to get the best of him. An explosion came off near him and he jumped, glaring at the stupid lawn- head who was grinning sheepishly.

Ryohei jumped back, parrying yet another barrage of fists coming his way. After fighting for such long time, he came to the conclusion that his fake was _extreme_.

The man in front of him looked like he was only beginning to tire, while the boxer was pretty worn out by now. He admitted that none of his fights- in the last years- had lasted this long. Usually, Ryohei would be the one to kick the guy's ass in the first ten minutes, before moving on.

"Watch out, Onii- san!" Yamamoto warned. The white haired man jumped more from hearing his friend's tone, than the oncoming danger. Nonetheless, he ducked just in time for the wave of Rain flames to pass over his head.

" _Extremely_ safe!" The boxer yelled back, his gaze straying from his adversary for just a moment to look at an aggravated Rain guardian. Uh- oh.

"It looks like we are in an _extreme_ pinch, Takeshi."

The Rain guardian could not agree more. Though Yamamoto could not say he was tired, his mind surely was. He had never liked fighting in the first place, in spite of the kid's words.

Reborn _never_ complimented someone, but somehow he was the only exception. The hitman seemed to have a soft spot for other hitmen- or just for him, Yamamoto didn't know. He had trained the baseball player personally and brought him to the highest level of training one could possibly take. Despite all his adversity to conflict, the swordsman wanted nothing more than to kill the guy and be over with it. This meaningless fight was getting on his nerves and he _hated_ it.

"Lambo- kun!"

Yamamoto turned his head to see Lambo being thrown back by his fake's flames.

Seeing Chrome about to get hit by her own fake, he sent a wave of flames at her.

This seemed to snap the girl back to attention. She could feel her face get warm in embarrassment.

"Th- thank y-"

"You should concentrate on your fight, Chrome." The rain man's eyes were narrowed on his fake."Let Lambo take care of his own fights."

Chrome nodded, though she knew he could not see her.

She turned around to face the other Chrome, who was smirking tauntingly.

Ah. She remembered why she disliked this fight so much.

It was _her_ attitude. And it only served to make her more irritated that the clone did not look too affected by her attacks. She just needed a good opening to slip to her and bring the fake down. Then she could help Lambo.

She knew Yamamoto's words were true, but knowing that the younger boy was in a pinch, only served to make her more irritated. Risking one last look at the boy, she dashed towards her fake, trident raised, the crackling sound of chirping birds accompanying her in the background.

Lambo's mouth pressed in a tight line. The teen tried to think harder for a new way to approach his enemy. He had used up all his attacks on his fake but none worked. The boy was getting more and more exasperated.

Slipping his hand in the pocket of his pants, he took out a chocolate candy. It was a special recipe made for him by Vongola's chef. The sweet tasted like chocolate, but it was more effective than any energizer.

Already feeling the waves of energy pulsing in him, Lambo activated his flames once again. He decided the new strategy is full- out attack. Hopefully, he will demolish the guy. Green lightning danced around him warningly, before being released gradually in explosions.

Hibari took a step to the right, closely avoiding the lightning that struck the ground, and rolled his eyes. The stupid cow herbivore was trying to become a carnivore again. Even if Hibari knew Lambo would fail, he applauded his will to evolve.

"I am bored. Let's stop the fight here."

The prefect growled, willing his glare to destroy the goddamned herbivore in front of him. Granted, the man was _good,_ since he was not dead yet, but the attitude not only put Hibari on edge, he wanted nothing more than to cut the guy in little pieces and feed them to the sharks.

The word _frustrated_ danced in his head, making the disciplinarian even angrier. He was not frustrated. Only herbivores were _frustrated_. He could be angry, or in mood of biting herbivores to death. The man agreed on the latter, though he had the feeling that his wish will not be granted.

His sharp gaze found the omnivore's clone standing a couple of meters away from all their fights, the school's shadow obscuring him from view.

He was standing attentive, face devoid of any emotion, though his dull brown eyes were narrowed.

Hibari had caught fragments of interest to him throughout the transpiring events. Between everything he learned, there remained one thing he felt, had confused him.

"Herbivore," The prefect called his fake, dodging a flying tonfa. The black haired man lifted his head, signaling he was listening.

"The carnivore said something about an opposite dimension. Is this where you are coming from? How is it different from ours?"

Fake Hibari blinked at the rainfall of questions, and answered after a few moments, albeit a bit hesitantly.

"Our dimension is a mirror of yours. That is to say, many of our situations and personalities oppose yours."

This revelation let the Cloud guardian finally sigh in relief. He could never have let someone like that fake have the same identity. Now he knew that it was an opposing parameter in the game.

The no- fight personality of his fake was finally down from questionable to understandable. The ruthlessness of the cow herbivore, the disloyal attitude of the bomber bastard, the masochistic tendencies of the baseball idiot and the bitchy attitude of the mist girl. This mirror thing seemed to be able to amplify one's personality as well. The headache- inducing boxer's loudness put on a killing spree, and the pineapple herbivore with his twisted mind seemed to have it like that.

Everything seemed clear, yet the questions sprung up in his mind continuously.

"Why are you here?"

His fake opened his mouth to answer, but the omnivore's fake cut him off. The man spoke slowly, a manic grin growing on his face. His tone was almost hysteric, making most of them stop and look back worriedly.

" _Why_ you ask. The answer is so simple, yet so complicated." Brown eyes tinted with a crazy gleam shifted from one person to the other, pinning them in place.

"The world is so big, isn't it?" The rhetorical question was left hanging, echoing in the following silence. "Yet I destroyed it."

Fake Tsuna turned around, the crazy gleam never leaving his eyes, he opened his arms wide. "I killed everyone unneeded. Our world has become so _boring._ So we have decided... to have a little fun in your world."

Gokudera almost threw up seeing that blood curling smirk on that face. A sudden rage spanned into him, making his fists clench. How _dare_ they come here and destroy the fragile peace the Tenth- no, all of them- had worked so hard to establish. How dare _he_ come here like _he_ owns the place?

"Game's over, bastards. Give the ring back and go crawl back into the hole you came from!" The last part of his statement came out more like a shout, his clenched fists itching to blow the hell out of that smirking bastard.

The only thing that stopped him was the Vongola Ring. They had to get it back, no matter what. That was their last mission as guardians. After that, they will fill in their boss's place, before a new boss will be elected.

The bomber did not want to think that far. He knew that day would come in the near future, but right now he could not afford to think about it, the wound was still raw and bleeding.

"Yes please. I invite you." Fake Tsuna opened his arms wide again, looking for all intents, like he was truly wanting them to attack him. Which was probably very true, if Gokudera thought about it now.

"Come on, come on." Fake Tsuna chanted, "It's been so long since I've killed someone. _Come and get killed!_ "

A sudden rush of wind was all their warning, before a wave of dark orange and black flames hit them.

Hibari, Gokudera and Mukuro were thrown back from the heat and power along with their fakes, while the others managed to duck in time or run away in order to not be squashed.

"The fuck, he hit you too?" The bomber asked his fake as he nursed his head, trying to sit up.

"I'm going to kill you, you fuckin-" Fake Gokudera exploded, his hand already on his gun.

The man in front of them frowned, looking kind of conflicted. "Go away. I still have a use for you, so I'm not killing you today."

Fake Yamamoto growled, sword lifted in preparation to attack; Chrome's clone summoned her trident; fake Ryohei's fists were up and ready to fight; Hibari and Mukuro's doubles stepped back quietly, at a respectable distance, away from the flames' range.

"You guys can kill each other for all I care." Fake Lambo waved, walking towards a bench a couple of meters away."Actually, please do that."

"Seems like I'll have only three guardians from now on. Well, no big deal."

With a wave of his gloved hand, fake Tsuna sent another, more powerful flame wave, sending his guardians flying into the school wall. His eyes burned a dark orange color, the flame on his head pulsing in anticipation of a good fight; his grin increased tenfold, trepidation cursing in his veins.

Hibari growled- they destroyed school propriety _again._ He stepped forward, fully intending on bashing the bastard's head, but a new wave of flames made him waver.

The carnivore's flames were so impure, you could not breath through them.

Yamamoto coughed, trying in vain to not asphyxiate. Those flames were so blackened that their energy itself was dangerous to anyone in their range. And unfortunately, they were caught.

The swordsman had only realized a couple of moments ago what fake Tsuna's plan was. The first two waves had been purer flames, but just as dangerous. The Harmony element introduced them into a state of paralysis, meaning- they couldn't move. And now, that man was pouring black, impure flames over them. If they did not die drowned in them, then he would kill them before they could even make a move.

Casting a glance around him, he found his friends in similar states as him. The only one who looked better was Hibari, who was glowering at the man in front of him, his eyes murdering him over and over again. The Rain guardian had to marvel at the endurance of the Cloud. The man was at the front of their group, taking the blunt of the attack, yet still standing tall and having the power to send waves of killing intent back to their enemy.

"Enjoy your last minutes in this world, my dear friends from another world!" Fake Tsuna laughed, a dark, humorless sound that did not do anything more than aggravate Mukuro. He cursed the wretched man in the form of his boss. If what the wimpy Cloud guardian said was true, then this was the potential ultimate dark side of Sawada Tsunayoshi.

The illusionist did not know if he should laugh or curse him. That stupid, benevolent Tsunayoshi could actually become something like that- it was unimaginable, yet evidence was in front of them, trying to kill them with flames.

From past discussions with Byakuran, he had learned that people had the ability to transform into their parallel world selves, if the situation so called for it. This change could be in time, or just in a second, no one could tell.

Mismatched eyes widened as his brain finally made the connection. It couldn't be... But it could also be true. _Oh God what did that idiot do to transform into that?!_

"You..." Mukuro's low voice brought everyone's attention onto him. "Are you the real deal?"

Dull brown eyes shined in delight. "Hmm, who knows..."

"Mukuro," Gokudera bit out, "what are you talking about?!"

"People can transform into their parallel selves in the right situation." The illusionist summed up his thoughts quickly.

"Oho, you did your homework." Fake Tsuna chuckled.

Lambo chocked, unable to comprehend the possibility that his older brother figure, that _Dame_ \- Tsuna could become something like that. 'It's not possible goddammit!'

Unlike him, Ryohei _could_ actually see it a little bit. Events that have transpired in the past were all accumulating and forming a horrifying reality for the boxer. Sawada might have began to change, but the differences were slim.

 _'How could he have hidden them so well?'_

Why? And how could they be so blind to all this?

Chrome frowned. Surely Mukuro- sama did not believe that the crazy man was their boss. Boss was kind and he would never do that.

 _'Or would he?'_

The girl shook her head. Doubting herself now would mean doubting half of her life, and she would not do that. That was not boss, he couldn't be! Casting a worried glance to the storm man, Chrome concluded that she was not the worst one of the bunch.

Gokudera looked at the man. Then he looked again. Every time he tried, he could not come up with any explanation to the illusionist's line of reasoning. Where had he seen the Tenth?

He could not see him anywhere in that man, and now even more, with the barrage of flames to their faces. The bomber grit his teeth, feeling his body become numb from the Harmonization attribute.

Was that all there was to it? His brain was trying in vain to come up with an escape plan. With impending hopelessness he realized- there wasn't any way out.

'Tenth...' Green eyes fell closed. 'We failed our mission.'

* * *

"Hieee, don't tell me _I'm just in time_?!"

Gokudera's eyes snapped open, his head wiping back towards the source of the new voice. From the corner of his eyes he saw fake Tenth stop the attack, his orange eyes glaring heatedly towards the source of the sound. Eyes wandered all around them, desperately searching for the person that spoke. His heart was beating wildly, his mind trying to understand what was happening without adding false hope.

Mukuro spotted him almost immediately. The man smirked. Figured that Tsunayoshi was not even able to become the bad guy. It would destroy the balance of all fluffy things in the world. Though he was a little disappointed that the impetuous plot twist hasn't happened, the illusionist was glad he did not have to be the one to kill the idiot, considering the state of mind of his less gifted companions.

 _'When will you become our enemy then, Tsunayoshi?'_

* * *

Tsuna surveyed the disaster before him and fought back the urge to go hug Lambo. The place was wrecked- which meant he should stay clear of Kyoya- and his friends were not in a better state. Each of them displayed various injuries, ranging from cuts to burns and heavy bruises. His eyes finally adjusted to the light and the sight that greeted him made him freeze.

Hibari was standing in front of his other self, being the only one still on his feet. Mukuro and Takeshi were behind, crouched down; Onii- san, Chrome and Gokudera were behind them, the Sun guardian sitting on the ground with his hands behind him, while his right hand man and Chrome were trying to shadow a worn out Lambo from the attack.

In that moment, Sawada Tsunayoshi saw red. His guardians were almost dead on the ground and it was all his fault! His and that bastard's that stood smirking near the school building.

He had come here with peace in mind, trying to come up with a good pact strategy and calm the guy and his friends, as well as make sure his guardians did not harm anybody. Looking at it now, he had to stop assuming the impossible.

"You are going to pay for this." Eyes narrowed, furious flames dancing in the brown orbs.

Fake Tsuna laughed. "Then come at me, my dear self."

The young don did not need to be told twice. With a speed and agility that were a rare sight even to the guardians, Tsuna closed the distance in a couple of seconds, his fist swiftly colliding with his clone's face.

The evil man blinked in confusion, struggling to accept that he had been punched in the face by himself. Amusement filled his chest, making him laugh again.

"Oh my, the big bad boss has given me a lesson! Do you want to beat me with a twig, too? Pwahaha."

Tsuna looked down at his fake, who was struggling to regain his breathing. He stepped back when the man straightened suddenly, his brown eyes shining with dark amusement.

"You can't do _shit_ without your toys. How are you even alive, _fake_?"

Gokudera gritted his teeth, willing his muscles to move. That damned bastard was going to attack the Tenth and he did not have anything to defend himself with! They had to protect him.

Behind him Lambo prayed to all Gods that Tsuna- _nii_ \- if it really was him- will not get hurt again. But then he remembered that the brunette did not have his ring. And knowing Tsuna's aversion to guns, the teen doubted the man had just grabbed one on his way here. In short, his brother figure was pretty much powerless in front of that evil clone.

"I have my ways." Tsunayoshi said back, his face never betraying his inner conflict. The man was truly at a loss how to confront his double. The man didn't know anything about his power, thought he was sure the guy was powerful. He only hoped that the man had the same powers as him. It would be easier that way.

Fake Tsuna took a step forward, decreasing their distance again. "Well, how are you going to get rid of me?"

For all intents and purposes, he looked pretty impatient for his demise.

Tsuna wished he would be able to stretch it a little longer without relying on his ring, but his intuition was contradicting him on this matter. He knew he could not risk it again. The odds were not with him in this fight.

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of my toys."

Closing his hand in a fist, he made for the man's face again.

Tsuna saw his double's eyes widen when he saw the ring on his hand, but it was too late. His flames enveloped his closed fist, coating his arm into the Vongola Gear. The red glove connected, propelling the man to the right a couple of meters away.

Tsuna let the flames surround him, his cloak swishing behind in the wind.

Fake Tsuna stood up, his eyes blazing with unrestricted rage. His mouth was set in a sneer, dark orange flames pulsing on his forehead.

"Let's see which one of us deserves to live, clone!" The man growled, sending a wave of darkened flames towards him.

Tsuna avoided the attack just in time, propelling himself over it, before swiftly changing direction toward his other self.

Fake Tsuna met him halfway, the two Sky guardians locking in an aerial battle of flames and fists.

Ryohei looked on, his mind still reeling with the earlier events. He had been so convinced that Sawada has changed, he had sided with Mukuro. But he had to admit that it was a legit possibility- this coming from the man who knew a little more than the rest of the guardians about the situation.

Both of Hibari's eyebrows were raised, though he eyed the fight with an indifferent face, the feelings fluttering in his chest kept him occupied. Swiftly categorizing them into rage and killing intent, all directed towards his apparently alive boss. There was also a fluttering relief that was completely squashed down by irritation at having once again, been saved by the omnivore- thus resulting in him having to owe something to the bastard again. Hibari gritted his teeth. He would have to do again with just maiming him, but not entirely kill. He swore that at one point, the one who would kill Sawada Tsunayoshi would not be any random blood- thirsty mafioso, but his equally blood- thirsty Cloud guardian.

The fight in front of him descended from the upper sky towards the ground. Those two were releasing attacks like random lunatics, especially the evil carnivore- that he would kill, too. He saw the omnivore striking back with an X- Burner, mindful of the school building.

Hibari grudgingly approved. The omnivore may live to see another day.

"Ouch, hurts pretty much. I advise you guys to take it easy." The joyous voice of the baseball idiot sounded from behind him.

Hibari rolled his eyes. Figures that the first to be able to move would be the happy hitman. Even now, this unusual contrast of personality versus job was still a subject of discussion on the Underworld's bar tables.

Yamamoto stretched his aching limbs slowly, mindful of the impending pain that was coming with every small movement. He saw his friends were all absorbed, watching the fight.

Hazel eyes narrowed. Theoretically speaking, the Rain guardian was happy to know that Tsuna was alright. But technically speaking, the man did not even know if that _was_ really Tsuna. His instinct was telling him that he was, but then again, it was the same instinct that told him that Mukuro was right when he said that Tsuna had changed and become the bad guy.

The black haired man did not know what to think. Everything that happened up until now went through his head in fast forward, and Yamamoto tried to make sense of this, but he couldn't this time either. There were too many blank spaces. The swordsman concluded that answers were needed before anything more would pass.

His elbow hit the person behind him, and he quickly apologized. "Sorry Chrome. I still can't control my arm so good." His good natured chuckle sounded fake, even to his ears.

The girl shook her head with an understanding smile, returning her gaze to the fight.

Chrome felt like she was at the confusing border between happy and sad. Happy, because her boss was alright and he came to save them. Sad, because that man might not even be her boss.

But who _could_ it be?

Chrome didn't know. She had learned to not look for hope in any situation, because it could end bad, and then she would blame it on herself or the world. Her boss might be alive, or he can be one from another dimension. It could be possible, for all they knew. The sudden thought made her chest constrict, and she fought the habit to rise her hand there. The pain would not hurt her much, but it would be uncomfortable. She felt good, not feeling anything right now. She wanted it to continue a little more.

Fake Tsuna released a battle cry as he launched another wave of flames at his other self.

Up until now, Tsuna concluded, the man did not show any other power other than those flame waves.

Careful not to leave his guard down, the brunette decided to take a more direct approach in finding out his enemy's power. Direct attacks would work better on him.

Charging an X- Burner, he released it, before charging from the other side with a fist coated in hard flames. His attack was parried, so he opted for another abrupt flight. He knew time was of the essence, but the other Tsuna looked pretty worn out. Frowning in confusion, an idea slowly formed in his head. It was risky, but it could work, if his assumption was correct.

Going in for another attack, Tsuna summoned Natsu. The lion jumped to attack the enemy from the other side, effectively trapping him. Fake Tsuna's eyes widened, seeing himself with few options left, he released another, bigger, flame wave.

Tsuna expected his move. The man released an X- Burner in counter attack while Natsu released a flame attack on his own. The attacks collided, causing a blinding light to envelope the three like a sphere. Tsuna did not waste any time in propelling himself under his other self. He summoned Natsu back, the lion transforming into two thrusters, merging with the Vongola Gear.

He saw dark orange eyes widen as the computer counted the power levels. Soft flames kept him floating from behind as he moved his hands in position.

 **"Gauge symmetrical."**

Fake Tsuna turned to face him, sending another wave attack.

"Too late." Tsuna murmured as the computer spoke through his headphones.

 **"Standby for discharge."**

"XX- BURNER!"

* * *

Gokudera's eyes hurt when the XX- Burner dissipated, leaving impending darkness in its wake. When his emerald gaze finally got used to the dim light again, he spotted the Tenth almost immediately. The man was facing his fallen clone a couple of meters away from them.

"C'mon Hayato. How long do you plan to stay there?"

Silver locks whipped in the direction the voice has spoken from, the bomber coming face to face with the baseball idiot and the others. Now that he looked again, everyone was up and running except for him. It seemed like he had been too absorbed in the fight and watching over the Tenth, to realize his friends have moved. Accepting the offered hand, the silver haired man stood up, dusting his clothes. His eyes trailed back almost immediately towards his boss.

"Are... you sure?" The swordsman asked almost hesitantly from beside him. Gokudera scowled.

"Of course not. Be on guard." He ordered, half expecting anyone to retort. He was more irritated, than surprised when no one protested. In all other life threatening instances they had been through, they've done what they wanted, and they chose _now_ of all times to follow his orders. Well, it was never too late, he supposed.

* * *

Tsuna watched his other self quietly. The man looked pretty out of it, but he could not blame him. Getting hit by an XX- Burner was not pretty.

The man shifted slightly, signaling he was beginning to come into consciousness, prompting a new wave of fluttering in his chest to clog his throat.

 _Pity._

Witness at an impossible feat of dimension travelling, and the only thing he could feel was pity for his other self. Warm brown eyes fell closed, telling himself that it was finally over.

"It's never over, you know." Fake Tsuna chocked out from the ground. Tsuna's eyes opened to gaze at him in confusion.

"I hope you haven't forgotten that I'm not alone here."

Before the brunette could inquire further what he was talking about, Yamamoto's scream made his head whip back.

The black haired man had his sword out reflexively, though he was slouched a little, staring at the ground, unmoved. The others looked back too, alarmed by their friend's exclamation.

Suddenly, Yamamoto turned around, his sword swinging in a wide arc, clanking when it was parried with its twin. Fake Yamamoto's face was twisted into the most disturbing grin Tsuna has ever seen, and he did not like it.

Brown eyes widened when he saw the gash on his Rain guardian's back. It did not look deep, but he would bet that it hurt like hell.

"Stop them, it's too late." The Decimo frowned at his fake.

"Are you sure?" Fake Tsuna grinned, his voice gaining a little more power.

"This is not you."

Fake Tsuna's eyes narrowed. He almost gritted his teeth, but said. "Stop that idiot before he gets himself killed."

Fake Gokudera scowled, but hit Yamamoto's fake over the head, making him stumble to the ground, paralyzed. "It's just temporary." The man mumbled, dragging his colleague back.

"Happy now, fake?" The double's smile was more poisonous than a cobra's.

Tsuna did not grace him with an answer, steadying him with a thoughtful stare.

The brunette on the ground rolled his eyes. "Stop that, or I'm going to make sure you die this time." He made to get up, but couldn't lift himself more than a few centimeters from the ground.

"Look at me!" The man laughed, dry humor taking over the silence.

" _Pitiful_." He spat.

A hand entered his field of vision, making his eyes narrow again.

"I don't need _help_." He glared up at his clone.

Tsuna's smile transformed into a grin. "It's not about help, it's about idiots accepting it."

Grudgingly, he took the offered hand, his clone lifting him to a seating position.

"Tenth."

Said man turned around to face his guardians. Their expressions were grim, eyes filled with distrust, and worst of all, scared faces, that only appeared in his nightmares, materialized right in front of him.

Tsuna inhaled deeply, trying to calm his jumbling nerves and drive away the images dancing in front of his eyes. He tried to smile, but his mouth only twisted uncomfortably.

"H- hey..." the brunette cleared his throat, "I'm glad that everyone is okay. I- I know that what I did was obviously stupid and you guys don't deserve this again but-" He spoke quickly, but was startled when two thin arms suddenly enveloped him in a tight hug. Lambo sniffed through his shirt, ignoring Ryohei's callings.

"He is Baka- Tsuna, I know it!" The teen detached his face from him long enough to yell that back, before gluing it back.

The beginning of a smile appeared on the young don's face. He lifted an arm to hug the boy back. "I will explain it more properly when everything is over."

"But isn't it already, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Mukuro asked, smirking.

"If you call this," he gestured around them, " over, then I suppose."

"Does Reborn- san know...?" Gokudera did not have to finish the question.

Tsuna nodded, "He came with Kyoko- chan and Haru."

"So everyone knew besides us?" For the first time in a long while Tsuna saw his Rain guardian frown, and it was directed at him.

He gulped."It's not what you think! They found out-"

"Kufufu, I guess we were the only idiots around, then."

Brown eyes narrowed. "That's preposterous to even consider!"

"Then what should we consider, _herbivore_?"

Hibari's arms were crossed, his eyes carrying a dangerous glint that warned liars to think again.

"I told you. The whole situation-"

"You should not bother with an explanation, fake. They will only hear what they want." The other Tsuna laughed from the ground, his eyes burning with a challenging fire.

This time, five frowns were directed at him.

"That's not true. We only want to hear his reasons." Yamamoto tried to argue, but was cut off by the double.

"That's what you always say."

A tense silence settled around the group, interrupted only by Lambo's occasional sniffs. Tsuna sighed, gingerly disentangling himself from his youngest guardian, he crouched down to be on an eye level with his other self.

His smile was soft, yet it held a tone of grim pity. "So that's what caused you to change."

The other Tsuna frowned, his eyebrows going so down, the brunette though it wasn't humanly possible. "What do you _know_ , fake?" The man almost spat, his anger clearly displayed on his expression.

"Everything, Tsunayoshi." The sound of his name left a hollow spot in fake Tsuna's chest. The man remained silent, refusing to meet his clone's searching gaze.

"There _is_ ," the Decimo began, "a dark us in one of those dimensions."

"I see." Mukuro chuckled, "so this one here is the one that changed."

The man standing on the ground glowered at the Mist guardian.

"Unfortunately." Tsuna whispered, only for his other self to hear. "I don't know how to help you."

"You can't." The other Tsuna said matter of factly. "And I don't want you to. Fakes can't do anything."

Tsuna's smile was tight. "It's not about help, it's about idiots accepting it." He repeated, making his double roll his eyes in disbelief.

His dull brown eyes widened when Tsuna suddenly reached out and grasped his hand. His gaze moved from the other's grim stare to the cracked ring on his hand. The shining metal from before was rusted and chipped, cracks and open gaps here and there, only served to reflect how broken his soul was.

"This can be repaired," Tsuna's soft gaze was still trained on the ring. "It just needs time and friends."

His smile was so hopeful that the other Tsuna felt almost sorry for his fake. There was no hope left in his world.

"Haha, it's good to have you back, Tsuna." Yamamoto laughed, seating himself on the ground slowly, wincing in the process.

"Are you okay, Takeshi?" Tsuna looked over the wound worriedly. His hands automatically moved to remove the blood soaked clothing from the wound, like his Sun guardian taught him long ago. He's done this too many times, the brunette noted grimly.

The Rain guardian helped him by unbuttoning his shirt and sliding his hands through the sleeves. Careful to not hurt him even more, Tsuna peeled off the two pieces of clothing from his back. His gaze came face to face with the black head of a chinese dragon. Brown eyes assessed the damage with a grim but resolute edge.

"Is my tattoo destroyed or not?" Yamamoto grinned, turning his head towards him.

The brunette felt his guardian's optimistic mood glue on him, making his mouth twitch with a smile. "Fortunately, he missed the head."

The swordsman made a show of dramatically sighing in relief, making Tsuna chuckle.

"We still have to do something about these people, Sawada." Ryohei said from beside the other Tsuna. He was trying to close the bleeding wound on the man, before he moved to heal Yamamoto.

"The stupid device broke when we arrived in your dimension."

"Then how did you get to the past? And why here?" Gokudera's eyes could not be colder. He was standing a few feet away from them, his arms resting in the pocket of his pants, seemingly nonchalant.

Tsuna has seen the way his right hand man was behaving and he could say that he had half expected it. Years of friendship and countless obstacles overcome had taught him almost everything he could learn about Hayato- and vice versa. The bomber was bleeding, but not from a physical wound, like his Rain guardian. It was more of a wound to his pride. After everything, he had been left out again. Though honestly speaking, no one knew Tsuna's plan beside Onii- san, who might have had _some kind_ of idea, but not the whole picture.

With a heavy sight, Tsuna left Takeshi in the hand of Vongola's best healer and proceeded to walk towards his Storm guardian. He was stopped by his other self's answer.

"With Rittoro's device. You better watch out." Cold chocolate eyes shined with mirth. "He can do these tricks too. I dunno about the time frame. I think it was chosen at random. Though your past selves would have been fried, if your guardians hadn't come. That had been the plan." His smile was ruthless.

Tsuna turned his head back, locking eyes with his right hand man. The brunette offered a small smile.

Hayato did not return it, instead he turned around, motioning for Tsuna to join him.

"My apologies for failing to stop him, Tenth." The bomber said when his boss had caught up with him.

"There is nothing to apologize for. It was my fault that I got here too late. Because of that, you guys were almost killed."

Fists clenched tightly, the young don turned to look at his right hand man. His chocolate gaze was so sincere, it hurt. "I'm sorry for abandoning you like that, Gokudera- kun!" Tsuna almost yelled, bowing his head. More from habit, than intentionally, he had reverted to calling the silver haired man by his long lost nickname. It's been too much time.

Emerald eyes were looking anywhere but him. Tsuna felt his heart sink. Maybe that was it. That was the extent of bullshit with which one of his most loyal friends was willing to put up with. And the don didn't hold it against him. He felt the same.

"Tenth," The bomber began, interrupting Tsuna's train of thought.

"If you ever consider me unsuitable for the position I am in, please do not hesitate to remove me immediately. I do not wish to be a hindrance, especially to you. This situation has proven my incompetence yet again."

The intensity of his gaze, coupled with his more than serious expression, caused Tsuna to burst out laughing. The brunette knew it was disrespectful, and he berated himself for doing such thing, trampling on the feelings of others, but he could not help it! His right hand man had always downgraded himself, on every occasion he could- it _exasperated_ him. The brunette had hoped that the man had overcame this years ago, but he supposed today was the day old habits resurfaced.

On his end, Hayato looked pretty baffled by his boss's behavior. He made to ask what his reaction was for, when Tsuna wheezed out, still half laughing.

"I- I'm sorry. I don- t know how you can say that... with such a straight face!"

The brunette bowed a little, trying to calm himself down.

If Hayato had been baffled, now he was straight up confused. "I don't understand, Tenth."

Finally looking like he had caught his wits, Tsuna straightened, his mouth displaying an amused smile. "Hayato, of all people who I should fire, you are the last of them. _This situation_ proved me once again, that you are not only worthy to be the _sotto capo_ , but my Storm guardian as well. Never say such thing in front of me again. You united them when the family was in trouble..."

The rest of the sentence went unspoken, but it was understood by the bomber. His mouth twitched into a smile and he bowed low to hide it.

Tsuna wanted to tell him his reasons for not telling them his plan, but decided against it. He knew the bomber would still think about it, but if he was going to tell them, he would tell them all. He was neither prepared, nor surrounded by his friends now. There was time.

A sudden shiver went down his spine and his smile transformed into a grin.

Hayato and Tsuna both looked in the direction mist was starting to form, a person slowly emerging from the haze.

"I hope eavesdropping is not one of your hobbies."

"Kufufu, I am most hurt by your words, Tsunayoshi." Mukuro smirked, his hands playing with his trident. "I am most certainly not that type of person."

Hayato snorted, before turning around. "I will be heading back first, Tenth."

Tsuna nodded, offering another smile before his gaze slid over to his Mist's guardian form.

"Seems like you managed to keep your loyal dog." The blue haired man chuckled.

Tsuna frowned a little, before smirking, "Don't forget that you are also a dog, Mukuro."

"I like to think of myself as more than just that." The illusionist sniffed. "Though I suppose I will be the first one to kick the dust when my power won't be needed anymore."

His mouth curved up, daring the young don to contradict him.

Tsuna begged to defy, "I cannot ensure for anyone. But that is just how the mafia works. You better keep your services up and running, then."

Mukurk chuckled, "I suppose there is no tricking you anymore. After everything you put us through, you should be the one to look out."

"Haaah, so there is no gouging out any 'Welcome back, boss!' from you then. Such shame." Tsuna placed his hands on his hips, looking exasperated.

Mukuro actually stopped and took a good look at him, before bursting out laughing. "Maybe only over my corpse, _boss_."

With these words, he disappeared, leaving the brunette to sigh for real this time.

He started heading back to the guys, but Chrome cut his way.

The eye-patched girl smiled shyly, nodding to him, "Welcome back, boss."

Tsuna grinned, "Thanks Chrome. You okay?"

Chrome nodded again, before shaking her head, looking like she just remembered something. "Actually, I wanted to tell you that your... other self told us... that we could probably return in the future if we joined the rings together."

"I see. Thanks for telling me. I'm going to see him now."

With that, he continued on his way.

Chrome continued to smile as she watches him go. The girl couldn't help but berate herself for ever doubting him. Their boss had only done what he could to protect them.

* * *

Tsuna surveyed the scene before him with a sigh. He felt his eye twitch, giving way to a headache, but he tried to keep it down.

His other self was currently locked in a headbutting fight with Hayato, Takeshi was laughing, trying to calm them down whilst Onii- san was healing him and shouting an occasional _extreme_.

His eyes spied Kyoya further away, looking for all intentions and purposes, _not_ amused.

Quietly preparing himself for the oncoming craziness, he stepped up. "Ok, let's calm down everyone."

All heads turned towards him.

"About fucking time, I was getting old."

His other self scowled in his direction.

"Oi, watch out with that tone when you talk with the Tenth." Hayato glared at the man, prompting him to groan.

"Tell your dog to shut up, _fake._ "

"All right, let's stop there before we insult each other further." Tsuna frowned. "Chrome said you knew a way to return in the future ...?"

"Yeah, we need the Vongola Rings together and bum! We are in the future." The man mocked, doing jazz hands.

Ryohei nodded and crossed his arms, finished with healing his friend.

"Well then, let's _extremely_ get to it!"

Tsuna nodded, a determined frown set on his face. He made his way towards his other self, lifting his hand up.

The man lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Going back to the future." This time, it was Tsuna's turn to frown in confusion.

"You're an _idiot_!" The other brunette burst out laughing. "It's not my ring, it's your stupid past self's!"

Blinking in surprise, the young don turned around to see the other Gokudera drag his past self towards them. His eyes spied past Gokudera and the other guardians- even Hibari- following them.

* * *

Fourteen years old Tsunayoshi Sawada was scared. By everything that had transpired in the last hour or so. After the comforting victory of his Sun guardian, the boy thought nothing could destroy his night. It would be a lie to say that his Hyper Intuition hadn't disagreed with him, but the boy had shaken it off as just his imagination.

Thankfully, he and his friends had been spared by their future selves' appearance and they could've ran out of there, if not for his stubborn tutor. The baby refused to leave, and worst of all, made them stay as well. It would be the first time in a long series of curses addressed to the hitman.

His eyes caught his future self's apologizing gaze and he smiled tentatively. The older man smiled back before turning around to say something... to another him.

 _What?!_

Wild chocolate eyes moved back and forth in a daze, silently counting every pair of himself and friends. He came up with the number 3, including him.

"Hiiieeee, why are there so many me?!" This time the question was shouted out loud, the boy not even feeling the painful tug of Gokudera- one of them- anymore.

A sad- looking Tsuna answered, with a scowl on his face. Uh- huh. So that's how he looked scowling. Good for future reference.

"Oh God he is loud, what did I do to deserve this?" His tone was so sarcastic, it felt like a slap to the face for the younger boy. He had been bullied. _By his own self_.

Feeling the world had abused him enough for one day, he decided to get this over with. Luckily, his happier self was on the same page.

"Sorry for putting you through this. It seems that the older we get, the more craziness bounces up in our way." His chuckle was the most reassuring thing the boy heard all night.

Fourteen years old Tsunayoshi smiled tightly, nodding in understanding. "How can we help you?"

"Actually, it's _you_ who we need help from." His future self said, his mouth twitching with amusement at his surprised- and a little horrified- expression.

"H- how?" And cue the stuttering. Damn him and his anxiousness.

"We will need to borrow your ring for a minute."

Tsunayoshi blinked owlishly, his eyebrows shooting up in confusion.

* * *

Future Tsuna blinked back at his past self's confusion. Then reality smacked him right in the face. Bringing a hand up to massage his temples, he said.

"Ah, I forgot that you still don't have it."

"So Dame- Tsuna gets the ring in the end, huh." Reborn spoke for the first time, his smug expression directed at the Varia, who was standing a little farther away.

Xanxus scowled at the hitman, but it was the future wimp's self that addressed him.

"I don't like to interfere, but I would like to ask for a favor." His hand lifted, signaling for the ring.

Blood red eyes clashed with caramel brown in a battle of wills. After a few moments, the Varia leader tched and made to remove his necklace.

Tsuna's orange eyes watched the man get closer in what could only be described as a flash. But the Vongola boss saw his every move.

Lifting a hand- transformed glove, he parried the man's gunshot.

"Interesting," Xanxus smirked, "You didn't even blink. The next one would do a lot more damage then."

With seemingly all the calmness in the world, the Decimo said.

"Let's keep this for another time, no?"

Xanxu's eyes narrowed, but then his eyebrows shot up in surprise when his searching hand did not find the other half of the Vongola Ring at his neck. Looking up, he saw the brown haired man turn back, his hands connecting the two halves of the ring.

Tsuna slid the ring on his past self's trembling hand, before lifting his own ring. His guardians, the past guardians and his other self from the other dimension, with his guardians as well surrounded them. Many pairs of eyes were staring, most impatiently, at the two men and their rings.

After a couple of moments of nothing happening, past Tsunayoshi sighed.

"It- it looks like it doesn't work."

Future Tsuna's mouth pressed in a tight line.

"Seems like I need to take the hard way." The man inhaled deeply, as if in preparation. Before past Tsunayoshi could ask what he meant, the man in front of him spoke, his orange eyes succeeding in scaring the hell out of him.

 **"Primo I'll have to ask for this favor."**

From the corner of his eyes, past Tsunayoshi saw the older people in the area stiffen and he had to ask himself, once again, what kind of mess did Reborn force them in again.

The more elaborate ring that his future self donned started to glow, and a sudden light appeared next to the two. Another, blonde haired man, stared at them through equally orange eyes. His expression was relaxed, an amused smile occupying his lips.

 **"I see you've gotten yourself in another adventure, Tsunayoshi."**

His future self chuckled awkwardly, scratching his cheek. The man's smile widened marginally.

 **"Very well then."**

With those words, a massive light enveloped them all. The last thing Tsunayoshi heard before he lost consciousness, was the voice of his future self, telling him to take good care of his family.

* * *

 _"Make sure you change back." Tsuna grinned at his other self._

 _The other man pinched his nose, looking like he did not have the energy to deal with his shit anymore._

 _"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I should thank the Gods and Primo for not making me go to your dimension too. I would probably commit suicide than hear you tell me that again."_

 _Tsuna's grin widened, though his eyes were looking at the other man, concerned. "You should at least try-"_

 _"What part from 'It's too late' don't you understand, fake?" The other Tsuna smirked. "Even old man Primo from my dimension said it. You are the first one to stop me from all the other dimensions I've wrecked. Keep it up!" The man mocked, the smirk never leaving his face._

 _"Sure, I will do that." Tsuna's mouth melted into a smile. Their time was up, it seemed._

 _"You better watch out for_ _ **that guy**_ _, you said it yourself. He's the one we should fear."_

 _"Only if we are alone."_

 _Wide, dull brown eyes were the last things he saw, before light clouded his vision and all went black._

* * *

"Maaan, it's so good to be back." Yamamoto stretched, wincing a little when pain shot up across his back.

"Takeshi, you need to be _extremely_ patched up." Ryohei threw a fist in the air, already making his way towards the infirmary. The Rain guardian laughed, following suit. Before he left the room, he gave Tsuna a hard pat on the back, his grin radiating like the sun.

"It's good to have you back, Tsuna!"

The brunette smiled back, waving him off to go get himself fixed up. The man turned back at a pouting Lambo, and his smile tightened.

"Lambo-"

"Yeah, yeah, you are sorry. I know..." The teen turned his head in the opposite direction, considering his options, before turning around again. "You'll have to take me to the Arcades a thousand times before I forgive you!" The Lightning guardian exclaimed, his index finger pointing at his older brother.

Tsuna burst out laughing, "Consider it done, then."

Lambo smiled, giving him another quick hug, before exiting the room.

The man followed him, saying a quick thanks to a frantic Shoichi and confused Spanner. It looked like his guardians kept his apparent death, a secret from everyone.

Eyeing the red haired mechanic mumbling something close to 'The number of time- space travels is escalating too quickly, goddammit!' Tsuna resolved to give them a well deserved vacation.

"Herbivore." Kyoya's tone was as cold as ice and Tsuna could not help but prepare himself for the worst.

"Where is the carnivore?"

Blinking at the sudden interest, the don answered. "Primo sent them to their dimension as well. It was just perfect that he was able, too. Their appearance would've been pretty confusing for everyone."

The black haired man nodded in acceptance, his eyes closing in contempt. Both men walked side by side, both equally silent, but for different reasons.

Tsuna was trying to remain as silent as the dead, hoping he would not get beaten by his unpredictable guardian. On the other hand, his Cloud guardian looked the most calm he has ever seen him.

"I have come to the conclusion," Kyoya began, his grey eyes never straying from their path, "That you are equally as troubling, alive as dead. To avoid such irritating situations from now on, I will accompany you on your herbivorous meetings."

The brunette man rolled his eyes. There he goes again, just like that Mafia Land incident. Now he would be watched by the dangerous man twenty- four seven.

"Thanks for the thought, but I will have to refuse."

Kyoya looked at him with such a heated glare, it could have killed him for real. Tsuna hurried to continue, betting on the little patience the man possessed.

"I knew I was in mortal danger from the start. The appearance of the shadow- of the other _me-_ had been surprising, but half expected. With Maurizio, I was prepared to deal, but him coming had thrown my plans into disarray. So don't worry, I don't have to be watched by yo-"

A tonfa almost collided with his head. Tsuna swore he saw all his life pass before his eyes.

Kyoya's eyes were narrowed into slits. "How many of these herbivorous plans have you concocted without us knowing, herbivore?"

Knowing the answer would not only dissatisfy the prefect, but also risk his head getting done in, Tsuna opted to stay quiet and release a tentative smile.

The disciplinarian must have gotten bored, or concluded this was not worth his time, as he put his tonfas back and proceeded to walk away.

"I will make sure to kill you someday, _herbivore_."

The young don sweat dropped, but thanked the gods for the miracle of remaining alive.

Taking a left, he finally arrived at his office. He immediately went to his secret compartment, taking out the file with the name Settera and scribbled with a red pen on the front cover.

 _'Caso chiuso'_

"Sorry if I _extremely_ bother, Sawada." Sasagawa Ryohei smiled, opening the door wider.

Tsuna smiled back, inviting him in.

"You are not bothering me, Onii- san. Please make yourself comfortable."

The Sun guardian seated himself on one of the chairs in front of his desk, leaning back and sighing.

"Sawada..." The older man began attentively, before he shook his head, thinking better of it. "Just an _extremely_ short question."

Tsuna blinked, but nodded, urging him to continue.

"Was the Settera famiglia so dangerous after all?"

This time, the young boss smirked, his eyes becoming a duller brown.

"I cannot tell you what it could have been, Onii- san. But we all make sacrifices," Ryohei's eyes widened a little, seeing his boss's smirk vanish, only a sarcastic shadow remaining in its wake, "For our own selfish reasons."

In that moment, the Sun guardian knew, and he decided to not butt in anymore. Every one of them had their own quirks, and this seemed to be Sawada's. He fleetingly remembered the darker Tsuna from that other dimension and his craziness.

But their reality was so much different. If their boss would swing that dark path at some point, they would make sure to bring him back. Just like this time. Sawada Tsunayoshi was a simple man, but a man nonetheless. Everyone had their whims and empty spaces, but those could be filled by friends and family.

And luckily for Tsuna, they were not going anywhere.

* * *

Kyoko smiled as she watched Lambo and I- pin arrange the table, both careful not to break the expensive china wear.

"Kyoko- chan, the food is almost ready." Haru's head popped out from behind the kitchen door.

The auburn haired woman smiled and nodded. "Okay, I will go tell them."

Walking along the halls of the extensive manor, Kyoko could not help but wonder how would it be any different if Tsuna- kun had a choice back then. Would he have killed Maurizio or let himself be injured again. For his own safety, Kyoko hoped it was the former.

His office quickly came into view, and after a soft knock followed by an affirmative answer, her caramel gaze met with a warm, chocolate one.

Tsuna smiled, urging her in.

"Just came to tell you dinner is ready."

The man nodded, scribbling a last paper before lifting himself from the office chair.

He made to step towards her, and Kyoko bit her lip. It was now or never.

"Tsuna- kun..." Her voice was trembling and she stopped to clear her throat. "If we wouldn't have discovered anything, how long would you have stayed in the Vindice prison?"

Her eyes were imploring, and the brunette sighed, looking like he had been expecting her question for a long time.

"As much as I needed to. To be honest, I was scared to confront my other self."

Golden brown eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Why?"

A smile so acrid appeared on his face, it made Kyoko step back in shock. "I've never been good at facing my own darkness."

The still silence that settled around them was quickly shattered by the light haired woman. "Who said you had to?"

It was Tsuna's turn to look at her in surprise.

"Until it's too bad, let us deal with it. That's why your family is here."

Brown eyes softened, and the threatening smile dissolved into a small upturning of the mouth. "I would like that."

Giving him a quick kiss, she turned around, guiding him to the dining hall. Her arm was suddenly jerked back, and she looked confused before realization hit her.

Soft, bell- like laughter echoed in the dimly lit halls. Walking side by side like this was all she could ask of the present. She only hoped that these days would not abruptly end, like life tended to make them.

But then again, life in the Vongola famiglia was anything but ordinary, even for mafia standards.

* * *

 **a/n: _sotto capo-_ second in command **

_**caso chiuso-**_ **case closed**

 **And that's a wrap! I hope everyone enjoyed my story, I'd love to hear you opinions! :D**

 **i hope it does not feel like an abrupt end and hopefully, i did not let any loose ties xD (yes, i put everything from time travel to dimension travel to _everything_ mwaha(jk)... it was more of a test but i hope the result is good)**

 **it will be sometime until i post something as i am still in the writing process, but i hope to have something until i come back from holiday xD... so look forward to that~**

 **any grammar and spelling mistakes spotted may be reported to meh**

 **Reviews and feedback are appreciated! ^^**


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